The New Student
by arrasails1977
Summary: Set during Gokusen 2. A new student arrives at Kurogin incognito.
1. Chapter 1

She walked in the pouring rain with her head down, covered in the hood from her overcoat. The music playing in her ears from her IPod drowned out the sound of the heavy rain, the heavy rock beat also cancelling out most of the sounds of the traffic passing her on the street.

Her name was Tanaka Aoi and, due to unforeseen circumstances she was on her way to begin attending Kurogin Gakuin. Unfortunately, as Kurogin was a boys' school and she was going to be there until graduation in two months time, she was going to be spending those two months as Takagi Ichiru.

In preparation for her transformation into a boy, she had put a wig on over her shoulder length brown hair. It was fashionable at present to have slightly longer hair if you were a male teenager, so it was a little shorter than her hair. She found herself constantly wanting to scratch her head; sure that she was developing some kind of allergic reaction to the synthetic hair. She wore baggy black pants with a wallet chain running to her back pocket and hoped that she looked boyish enough to pass for the boy that she was pretending to be.

She was aware that she was to report first thing to Head Teacher Sawatari, who was going to introduce her to her new homeroom teacher. As she approached the gates of the school, she noticed further down, the gates to a girls' school. Wishing that her grandfather was on the board of governors for that school instead of Kurogin, Aoi squared her shoulders as she walked inside the gates.

She was a little early, so as expected, there weren't many students loitering around the quad. She therefore had an unobstructed path into the school. Seeing a caretaker emptying one of the huge bins just inside the front door, she approached the elderly man and asked him for directions to the Head Teacher's office. Thanking him for his help, she made her way in the direction he had indicated.

She passed a couple of stray students on her way. From the look of them – they had well cut short hair and were very tidy – she deduced that they were in some kind of academic club. Pulling the hood further down over her face, she hunched her shoulders, and avoided eye contact. She didn't realise that she looked quite forbidding to them, hidden as she was beneath her hood, but she could hear their mutters and wished that she had left her IPod on after speaking to the caretaker.

She blew out a breath, familiar enough with schools to know that a couple of nerds gossiping would only be the beginning.

She finally reached the teacher's lounge and walked inside. There were several teachers milling around inside and she stood just inside the door, waiting for someone to notice her. She didn't have to wait long.

A man in a track suit stood up and approached her. "Can I help you?"

She nodded. "I'm here to see Head Teacher Sawatari. I'm...Takagi Ichiru," she said. The police had advised her not to allow anyone but the Head Teacher and her homeroom teacher know about the real reason that she was here, for her safety as well as theirs. They had had the bright idea that an all-boys' school was the last place _they_ would look for her.

The teacher nodded and waved her through. He led her to the back of the room to where a man with glasses sat reading paperwork at a desk.

"Head Teacher, this is Takagi Ichiru. He said that he needs to speak to you."

Sawatari looked uncomfortable as he looked at her and stood up. "Takagi," he said gruffly. "You'll be in Class 3-D while you're here. Your teacher is Yamaguichi-sensei. Yamaguchi-sensei!" he called loudly, causing Aoi to jump in surprise.

"Head Teacher Sawatari! What can I do for you?"

The small woman who came to stand beside Aoi had long black hair, which was tied up in two pig tails on either side of her head, with round glasses and was wearing a red track suit.

"Yamaguchi-sensei, this is your new student, Takagi. You remember, the one that I told you about," he added, staring meaningfully at her.

The small woman looked at him confusedly for a moment. The Head Teacher glared at her until a look of realisation came over her face. "Oh, _that_ one," she said, winking conspiratorially at Sawatari, who merely glared at her more fiercely.

"Don't you worry Head Teacher, I'll look after Takagi. He's one of my precious students now."

Sawatari simply shook his head with resignation and advised, "I think you should get going to class before those delinquents tear the classroom apart."

Yamaguchi looked as though she would object to the man's words until she saw the confused look on Aoi's face.

"Yes," she agreed, taking Aoi by the arm and leading her out of the teacher's lounge. "Let us get to class and I'll introduce you to the others."

Aoi nodded, but didn't speak, which left the teacher plenty of time to chatter aimlessly as they walked across the quad into a separate building. Aoi listened absently; Yamaguchi didn't act like any teacher that she had ever met before. If she didn't know better, she would have thought that she wasn't much older than her own seventeen years.

They finally reached the end of a long corridor and came to abrupt halt at a sliding door. Yamaguchi turned to Aoi and grabbed her firmly by both arms.

"I know you might find it a little intimidating being the only girl in the class. Now, the boys might seem a little rough around the edges, but believe me, they're all good boys deep down. You don't need to worry about anything while you're in my class. You're also my precious student now and I'll protect you no matter what."

Aoi stared at her. She couldn't reconcile this small woman with her own past experience of teachers. Though she had had some decent teachers over the years, she was sure that none of them would have been offering to protect her!

"This is hard for me," she admitted quietly. "I don't really want to be here. When I'm around, people get hurt. How much do you really know about why I'm here?"

Yamaguchi looked at her sympathetically. "I know that you saw something that someone should never have to experience and that you're hiding here for your own safety."

"I think that my grandfather was wrong to send me here," Aoi explained. "Look, you seem really nice but when I'm around, bad things happen and I don't want anything to happen to you or your students because of me."

"Your grandfather is on the board of governors for this school and the superintendent agreed to keep you here, safe. Do you want your grandfather to worry?" the teacher asked her.

Aoi flinched at the question. She had lived with her grandfather since she was ten years old, when he had taken her in following the death of her parents in a car accident. If there was one person in the world that she would do anything for, it was him. Hence the reason, she hadn't flat out refused to come to Kurogin when he had suggested it.

"No, I don't," she confirmed quietly.

Yamaguchi nodded decisively. "Then you let me worry about things and you just concentrate on settling in."

"Thank you, Yamaguchi-sensei," Aoi said, bowing to the older woman, who waved her hand dismissively.

"You don't need to be so formal. Call me Yankumi," she advised. "It's the nickname my cute students gave me."

"Okay," Aoi agreed slowly. She stared after the teacher as she turned around and opened the door to the classroom behind her. For the first time, Aoi noticed the loud talking coming from the other side, and she flinched at the heightened sound now that the door was open.

"Good morning, everyone!" Yankumi called cheerfully as she walked inside. There was a collective call back of 'Good morning, Yankumi' from her students.

Aoi's eyebrows shot up as she got her first look at the boys in the classroom. These were Yankumi's 'cute' students? They lounged lazily in their seats looking like stereotypical teenage delinquents. They wore variations on the black uniform the school had, most of them wearing their blazers over various t-shirts.

"Everyone, we have a new student who will be joining us until graduation. This is Takagi Ichiru," Yankumi introduced, gesturing to Aoi to come through the door.

Taking a deep breath, Aoi squared her shoulders, tightening her grip on her school bag as she walked through the door. She bowed her head slightly to the boys in the class and walked over to stand beside Yankumi.

"Takagi, take a seat and we'll get started," Yankumi directed, indicating an empty seat near the back of the class.

Bowing her head in Yankumi's general direction, Aoi made her way to the empty seat. She could feel the boys' curious stares, but was careful not to make eye contact with anyone. She knew teenage boys well enough that it didn't take much to set off their testosterone time bombs; they got quite easily offended at even the smallest perceived slight.

She took off her overcoat and hung it over the back of her chair. Quickly taking a seat, she slipped her bag over the hook on the side of the desk after first taking out a notebook and pen.

Before all of this had happened, she had been a straight 'A' student, excelling in all of her classes and though being at a boys' school wasn't ideal for a girl, she was almost happy to be back in a classroom environment, where the routine was blessedly familiar.

"Yo. What's up?"

She stiffened at the voice coming from her right. Here we go, she thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

She turned her head to the right. The boy who had spoken was wearing an expectant smile. He had reddish-brown hair, which was spiked with several grips holding it back at the sides.

She smiled back at him. "I'm cool. How are you?" she asked. She hadn't actually thought through the logistics of generally acting like a guy. She tried to recall what the boys in her last school had been like, but she sensed that they hadn't been anything like these guys.

He held out a hand in her direction, leaning toward her slightly to do so. "I'm Takeda, but people call me 'Take'. Good to meet you."

"I'm Tsucchi," came another voice from the other side of Take. She glanced beyond him and saw a tall guy with reddish spiked hair. He was fanning himself with a bright red fan, which he lifted in greeting. "That's Hyuuga," he added, indicating the dark haired guy on Aoi's left, who also raised a hand at her. "And that's Yabuki and Odagiri," he added, indicating two boys who sat silently behind her.

She turned around and nodded to both of them. Yabuki had dark hair, which was flicked fashionably around his face and he smiled at her, nodding back.

Odagiri, who was sitting behind and slightly to the left of her merely nodded, no smile of welcome forthcoming from him. In fact, she could see that he was frowning faintly at her.

Nevertheless, she had been raised by her grandfather to show good manners and nodded politely back at him.

"So where are you from?" This came from Tsucchi. "Have you just moved here?"

She nodded. She already had her cover story ready. When thinking up a cover, she had thought it would sound more natural if it was partly true. "I moved here to live with my grandfather. As there were only a couple of months left, I thought I'd just come here for exams," she explained.

"What? You came here voluntarily?" asked Hyuuga incredulously.

"Yeah...why?" she asked.

Hyuuga shook his head, apparently baffled. "I'm just amazed that anyone would come voluntarily to this dump."

She shrugged. "I don't know. The teacher seems cool enough," she disagreed, indicating Yankumi as she spoke to the class while writing equations on the board.

Take nodded; as she looked at them, she saw a fond light enter their eyes as they looked at Yankumi. She noticed that even Odagiri's expression changed slightly. "Yep, there's no one else quite like Yankumi!"

They apparently weren't as bad as she had thought they were. Though she had only just met the teacher, she had instinctively liked her, and these guys had gone up in her estimation as they also appeared to have a liking for their apparently eccentric homeroom teacher.

"Odagiri, can you tell me the answer to this question?"

"365," he immediately replied in answer to Yankumi's query. Aoi hadn't even realised that he had been listening to the teacher. Looking now at the problem Yankumi had written on the board, Aoi quickly calculated that Odagiri was right in his answer. So he's quick and he's smart, she thought.

"Correct!" Yankumi said. "You guys are getting really good at this," she congratulated proudly.

"Well, it wasn't that difficult," Odagiri muttered.

The classroom door abruptly slid open to reveal Head Teacher Sawatari. "Yamaguchi-sensei, do you have a moment?"

"Of course," Yankumi replied, walking over to him. They stepped outside and the door closed behind them.

"I hope that Yankumi isn't in trouble again," Yabuki said, leaning forward in his seat.

Aoi's head swivelled toward him. "Trouble?" she asked.

Take nodded. "Yankumi usually manages to find trouble. Or rather, trouble usually manages to find her," he added wryly.

Aoi wasn't convinced. She was worried that this sudden visit by the Head Teacher heralded something to do with her situation. She stiffened as the door opened and Yankumi reappeared. The teacher had a troubled look on her face, though she was obviously trying to hide it.

"Do you think she looks worried?" she heard Odagiri say to Yabuki in an undertone.

Yabuki replied. "Yeah; I wonder what's happened."

The rest of the lesson continued uneventfully, though Aoi found it difficult to concentrate. Too many times recently, upheavals had occurred in her life and she was sadly becoming resigned to the fact.

The class finally ended and Aoi waited to see whether Yankumi would ask to see her after class. While the others were standing in the class getting ready to go their next lessons, she slowly put her notepad and pen away and stood herself. Sure enough, she had no sooner stood than Yankumi called out, "Takagi, could you wait a minute before you go to your next lesson?" Though she was trying to be nonchalant about it, Aoi had to admit that Yankumi was not the greatest actress. She could also tell that the guys standing nearest to her knew the teacher well enough to know when something was bothering her.

This was confirmed by the sharp looks being shot her way. She chose not to acknowledge them; instead, she merely nodded at them. "I'll see you later," she said, putting on her overcoat and walking calmly to where Yankumi was waiting for her.

She felt their stares as they filed out of the classroom. They were the last to go, the rest of the class having exited as soon as the bell had rung. Therefore, they had been the only ones to hear Yankumi ask her to stay back after class.

Aoi waited for the door to shut behind the last boy, who happened to be Odagiri. She saw from the corner of her eye that he paused momentarily and looked back at them before leaving, but neither she nor Yankumi acknowledged him, so he had no choice but to leave.

Once the door had slid shut, she asked resignedly, "What's happened?"

"I don't want you to worry too much about this," Yankumi said.

"It's fine," Aoi replied. "I'm used to it by now. What's happened?" she repeated.

"Head Teacher Sawatari has just received a call from the police. Apparently, they've heard from an informer that the people who are looking for you have found out that you're hiding at a school. I'm sure though," she hastened to add, "that they wouldn't think to look for you at a boy's school. You just need to make sure that you keep a low profile while you're here."

Aoi breathed a sigh of relief. Considering some of the things that had happened recently, the news could have been worse, she assured herself.

She nodded. "That's okay. I wasn't planning on getting involved in anything more than the odd maths or English class," she added wryly.

Yankumi smiled, apparently glad that Aoi didn't appear too upset by this turn of events. "If that's the case, you had better get on to your next lesson before you're missed," she advised.

Having memorised her schedule for the day, she knew that her next lesson was English. However, she didn't know where it was, so she asked Yankumi for directions, who obligingly told her where she needed to go.

Aoi walked down the long corridors and pondered on what Yankumi had told her. Despite her show of bravado, she was smart enough to know that if they had discovered that she was hiding out in a school, it might not be long before they found her.

She halted abruptly in the middle of the corridor and stared unseeingly out of the window, which looked out on to the quad. Would this never end, she asked herself. She lifted a hand to her forehead and rubbed at the bridge of her nose where she could feel the beginning of a tension headache.

What had she ever done to deserve this? No seventeen year old girl should have to go through what she had for the last few months. She couldn't even talk it over properly with her grandfather because he was already worried enough about her as it was.

Sadly, she had never made friends easily; her best friend had been her brother and now he was gone. She took a deep breath and forced down the tears that she could feel starting at the thought of her brother, Kaoru. It had been only three months since he had died and she knew that she would never get over losing him the way that she had.

It had been because of the way that he had died, that she had changed the way she had. Kaoru had been trying to protect her when he had been killed and she had vowed that never again would she get into a situation where she couldn't get herself out.

She jumped as a large hand suddenly slapped her hard on the back, propelling her forward until she almost hit the glass window in front of her. "Oh, sorry dude, I just don't know my own strength."

She turned around, her back stinging where she had been slapped; she was sure that she would have a bruise. She looked up and saw Tsucchi standing before her, fanning himself. Geez, he's tall, she thought.

The others were standing behind him, staring at her. "So, what did Yankumi want?" Hyuuga asked nosily.

She blinked in surprise at how forthcoming they were in being nosy. They obviously had no idea of what personal boundaries were. Kaoru never would have asked a relative stranger a question in that manner. She guessed that she had been a little spoiled by having such a good person as a brother.

"There was a part on my entry form that hadn't been filled in properly, so I had to give her more information," she lied.

They seemed to take her at her word. However, she looked at Odagiri and noticed that he was staring at her, unsmiling. She had the feeling that he didn't believe her.

Oh well, whatever, she thought. She wouldn't be here long enough for it to matter to her. "I guess I'd better make my way to class. I think it's English with Shiratori-sensei," she said, recalling what was on her schedule.

Tsucchi waved his fan dismissively. "You don't want to go there," he advised. "We're skipping today; do you want to come with?" he invited.

She looked at the five boys standing before her and thought for a moment. For once, she wanted to do something just for herself. She didn't think that anyone would miss her; they didn't have another lesson with Yankumi for the rest of the day, so as far as the other teachers were concerned, they wouldn't know she was there. Also, some fresh air would probably help to clear away her headache.

She nodded in acceptance. "Sure; where are we going?"

"We're thinking the arcade to start with," Tsucchi said, resting a long arm over her shoulder.

They began to walk in the opposite direction that they had come from, Tsucchi's arm still resting on her shoulder. It was amazing to her how different boys were from girls. If she had just started attending a regular girls' school, she was sure that none of the girls would have taken to a new student as naturally as these boys had.

They made it outside without being stopped by any teachers. She wondered how that was even possible; for six schoolboys to escape from school in broad daylight.

They made their way out of the gates and turned right. She wasn't altogether sure where they were going, she was just glad that the heavy rain that had been falling on her way to school earlier had disappeared to be replaced by a brightly beaming sun.

"So, you live with your grandfather?" asked Take curiously.

She nodded. "Yeah; my parents passed away, so I moved in with him."

Odagiri stared at her. "It wasn't long ago, then?"

She could have kicked herself. She had almost replied that she had moved in with her grandfather when she was ten years old, despite already having told them she had only recently moved in with him. "Not long, no," she fibbed in time.

"Hmmm," she heard Odagiri hum under his breath.

She frowned to herself. She again had the feeling that Odagiri was aware that she was hiding something. She didn't think he had believed her either when Yankumi had asked her to stay after the first lesson.

She saw Yabuki swivel his head toward Odagiri and raise his eyebrows questioningly, but the latter merely shook his head. Yabuki shrugged.

They made their way down a small alley only to halt abruptly at the sight before them.

Walking toward them from the opposite direction was a group of students. Though they were also dressed in black, she could see even from this distance that their lapel pin was not that of Kurogin.

"Shimatta!" she heard Yabuki curse under his breath. She felt Tsucchi's arm stiffen around her shoulder.

"What is it? Who are they?" she asked.

"It's Zuma and his gang from Ara High," Yabuki explained, a distasteful look on his face.

The five boys that she was walking with suddenly became different to the ones that she had met that morning; their features hardened and they looked ready to take a bite out of someone.

Tsucchi clasped a hand firmly on her shoulder. "You might want to step back. This could get ugly," he added.

She shook her head. She didn't step back from anything anymore. "I'm fine; I can take care of myself."

She felt Odagiri shoot a narrowed glance her way but chose not to acknowledge it. Instead, her own eyes narrowed as she watched the Ara High students walk purposefully toward them.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

"Yabuki! Odagiri! Long time, no see."

It was the boy in the lead who spoke. He was tall; only a little shorter than Tsucchi, but more broad. His hair was rather long; dark brown with blond highlights at the tips. He, along with the rest of his gang wore mean scowls.

"Zuma," Yabuki growled, stepping forward, a similar scowl on his face. "What are you doing around here?"

Zuma sneered. "Last time I checked, this was a free country. We're just walking along, minding our own business."

Aoi followed the conversation. There was obviously no love lost between the two groups of boys and here she was, trapped in an overabundance of testosterone!

"Are you trying to cause trouble? You never change, do you?" It was Odagiri who spoke this time. His expression was as impassive as ever, except for the slight twitch that Aoi could see above his left eye.

Knowing Zuma's type from past experience, Aoi straightened, unconsciously preparing herself for a fight. Zuma's gaze immediately focused in on her.

"So, who's the new recruit? I don't think I've seen him before."

They didn't answer him; she stared back at Zuma, defiantly not lowering her gaze. She had come across worse than him and she had no tolerance for bullies. The expression in her eyes told him so; he didn't seem to like that because he sneered at her.

"What are you looking at?" he growled.

Aoi looked him up and down insolently, her mouth opening, words coming out before she could judge their wisdom. "I don't know; but it is one ugly looking dude, though."

A surprised snort of muffled laughter erupted from Tsucchi, who was still standing at her side. Zuma glared at him and his hand shot out, grasping Aoi's shoulder painfully.

The memory of what had happened on that day three months ago flashed like lightning through her head and she flipped. Snarling, she placed her hand on his and twisted fiercely.

She was immediately gratified to see a flash of pain on his face as he snatched his hand back. He glared at her, which she returned angrily. He and his little friends thought nothing of causing pain and suffering in others and her life had been irrevocably changed because of a man just like him.

She was about to step forward and a little unwisely punch him in his unattractive face, when she felt a firm but, more gentle hand come down on the shoulder that Zuma had squeezed so painfully only a moment ago.

Her head spun around and she saw that it was Odagiri who had held her back. He wasn't looking at her, however; he was staring at Zuma.

"Zuma, why don't you be on your way, and so will we?"

"This little squirt insulted me. You think I'm just gonna let that go?" Zuma replied, glaring at Aoi as she stared back.

She saw Odagiri's lips tighten and felt his fist clench more firmly on her shoulder. She tensed, sure everything was about to kick off and her heart sank at the realisation that she had behaved foolishly; she didn't know what she would do if these guys got hurt because she had jumped in feet first. She grimaced and opened her mouth to swallow her pride and apologise when a shout came from behind them.

They all spun in that direction and saw the two patrol officers running toward them. "What's going on here?"

Zuma grimaced with thwarted anger. If there was one thing that he was looking forward to, it was planting his fist squarely in Odagiri's smug face. However, that wasn't likely to happen today and he growled with displeasure. "Let's go; this isn't over," he insisted, glaring at Odagiri. "And I won't forget you, either," he added, pointing his finger in Aoi's face before running in the opposite direction, closely followed by his equally unattractive minions.

"We should go too, don't you think?" Take suggested, shooting a nervous glance at the rapidly approaching police officers.

Swiftly deciding he was right, they all ran in the same direction that Zuma and his gang had gone, making a detour down a narrow alley, which was well hidden by several large dumpsters, which smelled unpleasantly of rotting rubbish.

Turning the corner at the other end of the alley, they stopped and looked back, breathing heavily, relieved that the police were no longer following.

"That was close," Tsucchi grinned, still breathing heavily as he bent at the waist to catch his breath. He straightened abruptly, opening his ever-present fan and stretched hugely. He tilted his head enquiringly in Aoi's direction. "You've got quite a big temper for such a little guy, haven't you?"

"I'm sorry I nearly got us in trouble back there," she apologised. "I just don't like bullies," she added truthfully.

Tsucchi slapped her roughly on the back, still grinning widely. "Don't worry so much; you'll get wrinkles."

"Listen to Tsucchi; a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, right?" This came from Yabuki as he approached her and slung an arm casually over her shoulder.

Aoi breathed a sigh of relief as she looked at the others. They – with the exception of Odagiri, who still appeared to be sizing her up – seemed to have taken her reaction in their stride and she marvelled again at the difference between males and females. She had been afraid that they would turn their backs on her for potentially starting a fight with the other gang. Though she had only just met them, she knew instinctively that these boys were the ones who led the class and could have made life hell for her if they wished to. For some unknown reason, they seemed to have taken her – a new student – under their wings, and she was grateful to them for it.

Yankumi had been right; they were a good group of boys, despite their appearance.

"Well, are we arcade-bound, or what?" Hyuuga asked rhetorically.

Yabuki nodded, an arm still wrapped around Aoi's shoulder. "Yeah, let's go, guys."

Surrounded as she was by the five boys, Aoi listened to them laughing and joking as they made their way out of the alley and on to the sunny street, and for the first time in three months, felt the nagging sense of depression lifting.

Maybe being around these boys until graduation would help her to deal with both the events of three months ago and also help to take her mind off the very real danger that she now found herself in.

She had thought that coming to Kurogin would be a waste of time. Her grandfather, however, had insisted. She would have been happy to stay with him until the trial was to begin, but she knew that her grandfather had become increasingly worried about not only her physical safety, but also her mental wellbeing.

Immediately after her brother's death, she been inconsolable in her grief and guilt at the way that he had died and only intense counselling had helped. It had been during this time that she had approached her grandfather for self-defence lessons and due to his concern for her, he had been only too happy to agree.

Despite worrying when Aoi was out of his sight, her grandfather had arranged for her to attend this school as he had known that it would be best for her recovery to not have so much time to dwell on what had happened. It had initially only been his insistence and concern for her that had convinced her to go, but she wondered now whether he had been right.

Her grandfather had enough on his mind thinking about the upcoming trial and the death of his grandson, without his remaining grandchild causing him more concern, so she had eventually agreed to abide by his wishes.

Hyuuga and Take ran into the arcade, which they had reached without her realising. Aoi smiled faintly, feeling comforted by the casual arm that Yabuki still had slung over her shoulder and she followed the boys inside the building, knowing the next three months were going to be anything but boring!


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"Ojiichan, I'm home!"

Aoi breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the door behind her. She didn't know whether she was happier that she was home or that she could now remove her horrible, itchy wig. She did so now and she was sure she heard her scalp give out a shriek of relief. It had become quite warm that afternoon, so she had been uncomfortable under the synthetic hair piece and she now scratched her head fiercely, groaning with pleasure at the sensation.

"You're not going back on _my_ head," she muttered, glaring balefully at the wig in her hand. She couldn't go through another day of that, so as soon as she had greeted her grandfather, she was going to go to her bathroom and cut her hair into a similar style to the wig. Her natural hair could grow back, but if she had to go through another day with that wig on, she was sure she would go insane.

She took off her shoes and put on a pair of the slippers that were just inside the doorway. As she did so, she heard a shuffling noise and glanced up to see the elderly man approaching, a frown of concern on his wrinkled features.

"Aoi, are you okay? How did it go today?"

She smiled gently at her grandfather, Tanaka Hideyuki. She and Kaoru had lived with him since they were seven years old, following the deaths of their parents. At that time, their grandmother had also still been alive, but had sadly died three years later, leaving only the twins and Ojiichan to inhabit the large house on the outskirts of town.

Her grandfather, in addition to being on the board of governors for Kurogin Gakuin, was a well-respected businessman and community leader, and was well-known in the area for his kindness toward others.

She walked over to him and hugged him, kissing him on the cheek, smelling the familiar scent of peppermints. His forehead was creased with concern and she smiled faintly as it bought to mind Tsucchi telling her earlier not to worry because she would get wrinkles.

"Everything was fine, Ojiichan. The kids are okay; your granddaughter even made some friends!"

Ojiichan's frown didn't lift at this news. "I was worried when the police called saying that they may have found out you were at a school in the area."

"It's going to be fine," Aoi said reassuringly. She wanted her grandfather to worry as little as possible about her in the next couple of months. One of her reasons for taking part in self-defence classes had been so that her grandfather would not worry that she couldn't protect herself if she needed to. "The last place I'd be expected to hide would be at a boy's school."

He shook his head, still frowning. "I still think you should have let me hire some bodyguards for you."

"But that would call attention to me, wouldn't it? Everyone knows how protective of me you are; hiring bodyguards would be expected. This way, I can blend in with the boys and nobody will be any the wiser."

Hideyuki's face softened as he looked at his beloved grand-daughter. Though he knew that she was right, when he had made the decision to hide her at the school, he had initially thought that he would be sending her with people who would be able to protect her. It had only been at Aoi's insistence that she would be more likely to stay below the radar without them, that he had reluctantly agreed.

Aoi had had a hard time over the last three months. She had been closer to her brother than to any other person, even himself. She and Kaoru had been inseparable, as was often the case with twins. Kaoru had been a wonderful grandson and he missed him terribly, but he knew that Aoi's pain went even deeper than his own.

He suspected that Aoi had locked the agony of losing her brother inside, as she knew that he himself was worried about her, and he felt the leaden weight of guilt that she had put his welfare before her own. He had known that she hadn't really wanted to go to Kurogin; she would far rather have stayed with him. However, he knew that the one place that she would be at most risk would be at home. As much as he would have preferred her to stay with him, he knew it was safer for her to be away from home as much as possible.

He cleared his throat, leading the way into the living area. "So what is your teacher like? And who are these friends that you have made?"

Aoi's eyebrows shot up as she followed him inside. "I've had some teachers over the years, but Yankumi is in a class all of her own; she's a little – shall we say – eccentric? She has helped me to settle in."

"Yankumi? You call your teacher this?" he asked, picking up the cup of green tea that sat on the table. He had a slightly disapproving expression on his face at her informality.

She waved a hand dismissively. "She insisted. Her name is Yamaguchi, but her students gave her a nickname, so she goes by that."

He still didn't look convinced. "Young people nowadays; I don't know. Anyway, how about these friends? I didn't realise there were any other girls there."

She shook her head nonchalantly. "Oh, there aren't. They're boys. Anyway, how did your day go, Ojiichan?" she added rapidly. She was trying to gloss over the fact that her new friends were a bunch of boys. There was no way, her grandfather being as protective of her as he was, that she was going to tell him that they looked like a delinquent teenage gang.

"I don't know if I agree with that," he said a little stuffily. He was old-fashioned and to add that to the over-protective stance he had taken since Kaoru's death, she hadn't thought that he would be too happy that she was hanging out with a bunch of boys.

She shook her head innocently. "I don't know what you mean, Ojiichan. I'm just one of the boys. They don't treat me any differently. It's quite refreshing, actually," she insisted truthfully.

He shook his head, his expression softening at the slightly mischievous expression on her face. He was gratified to see it for the first time in three months and he vowed that if being at the school with those children would bring forth this change in her, he would keep his mouth shut, as long as she was safe.

They talked for a little while longer until the telephone rang; it was one of her grandfather's business contacts, so she kissed him on the forehead and mouthed to him that she would go upstairs and get changed.

As she took the flight of stairs up to her room, the mischievous expression in her eyes and the smile on her lips faded, to be replaced by her usual sombre expression. She stopped abruptly as she reached the door to her brother's bedroom.

She could remember running across the landing from her own bedroom to this one, on the first night they had stayed there after the death of their parents. She had been unable to sleep, having cried so much at the sense of loss and fear that she felt. Though they had both stayed with their grandparents many times when they were children, it had been a different matter staying there because their parents had died.

She had knocked quietly on her brother's door; quietly so she wouldn't disturb him if he had somehow managed to get to sleep. But no sooner had she knocked than the door had opened and she had seen the much-loved face of her brother standing there. His eyes had been red from crying, but were now dry. Her bottom lip had trembled as she looked at him, more tears falling from her eyes and he had hugged his little sister to him fiercely. Even at only seven years old, he had been protective of her.

He had led her inside his room, closing the door as he led her to the bed, lying down beside her. He had covered them with the blanket and hugged her to him. He had been humming as she fell into an exhausted sleep, a lullaby that their mother had often sung to them when they were unwell.

He had always been the strong one.

She rested a hand on his door, wishing with all of her being that her brother – no, the other half of her – was still inside, studying while listening to the too-loud rock music that he always had blasting from his iPod. She closed her eyes painfully as she thought of all the times that she had shouted at him to stop listening to the music while she was trying to study. He had always cheerfully shouted back that he had some ear-plugs she could borrow if she didn't like it.

They had never argued seriously about anything. She had heard horrible stories from her peers at school, constantly bemoaning their fates at having arguments with their parents and siblings, but she and Kaoru had never been like that. Whether it was losing their parents at such a young age, she didn't know, but she had thanked her lucky stars every day that this wonderful person was her brother. She had never dreamed that he would be taken away from her.

She fiercely clamped down on her feelings and walked rapidly into her own bedroom, closing the door behind her. She leaned backwards against the wood and looked around the familiar room as the tears that she held in, tried to escape.

She had redecorated the room when she was fifteen, the room having previously been very pink. She had been through the usual 'princess' phase when she was little, but had eventually grown out of it, the pink and white frills and lace being replaced by more traditional Japanese decoration.

She had spartanly decorated the room; a dark wooden framed bed had replaced the four-poster, enhanced by a similarly coloured coin chest, which resided at the bottom. A tall wooden wardrobe was situated in the far corner of the room. Her laptop was on the desk along the right-hand wall and a huge bookshelf sat next to it.

She made her way over to the bed, dropping her school bag next to her as she sat down. She picked up the photo that rested on the bedside table, almost blinded by the tears that filled her eyes. The happy faces in the photo smiled back at her; it was of her and Kaoru, taken when they had visited an amusement park together to celebrate their seventeenth birthday.

One of the main ways they had differed had been in the way that Kaoru could make friends so easily. He had always been surrounded by people, but on the day that the photo had been taken, he had taken time out to go to an amusement park with her, just the two of them.

They had had so much fun that day. It had begun as a warm day with the sun shining brightly, so they hadn't expected the brief torrential downpour that had happened halfway through the day. They had both been soaked through, laughing like maniacs as they dried out throughout the rest of the day as the sun shone through.

The photo had been taken by a member of staff at the amusement park. She and Kaoru had their arms around each other's shoulders; he was winking and grinning at the camera and she was trying to stick her tongue out – not very successfully, as she had been giggling uncontrollably at the time.

She took a deep breath, blinking rapidly to stop the tears from falling, trying to rid herself of the depression that she lately, more often than not, found herself in. Her shoulders slumped as she looked at her brother's smiling face. She just felt so tired. In order to protect her grandfather from the way that she really felt, she tried not to show her emotions in front of him any more.

She shook herself and put the photo back on the dresser. Standing decisively, she walked into her en-suite bathroom, determined that she would no longer dwell on the bad things that had happened; instead, she would take one day at a time, which she had learned during her many counselling sessions, and not expect too much of herself.

She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled determinedly, showing two white rows of perfect teeth, trying to ignore the fact that the smile didn't reach her eyes. If there was one thing she thought that she was learning, it was how to show only emotions that she wanted others to see.

She opened a drawer, which held a variety of girly paraphernalia and took out a pair of scissors. Looking again at herself in the mirror, she lifted her shoulder-length hair and began to choppily cut it in a style similar to that of the wig she had left downstairs. She wasn't looking forward to the reaction her grandfather was sure to have at cutting her hair, but she was afraid that if she had to carry on wearing it, she would rip the wig off at an inopportune time due to the discomfort, and then where would her cover be?

As she cut her hair, she thought back to the way her first day at Kurogin had gone. She had been pleasantly surprised at how easily she had, on the most part, fitted in with the class, especially the small group of guys she had gone to the arcade with.

She had quickly realised that Yabuki and Odagiri were the uncontested leaders of the class; all the boys in 3D seemed to look to them for the way to act, and behaved accordingly. Yabuki came across as quite easy-going, though she had the feeling that wouldn't stop him becoming troublesome if something didn't go the way he wanted it to.

Tsucchi and Hyuuga also seemed to be easy to get along with. Tsucchi seemed to be a walking hormone, and spent most of the time they were at the arcade bemoaning the fact that he didn't have a girlfriend, Hyuuga agreeing with him in a show of masculine solidarity. She had felt herself involuntarily blushing a few times at the ribald comments flowing freely between them.

She felt that Takeda – Take – was more serious and came across as quite sensitive. She felt that he was the conscience of the group and he seemed to have taken her under his wing, for which she was grateful. He hadn't joined in with Tsucchi and Hyuuga in the talk about girls; she had found out that he was the only one in the group that had a girlfriend. He seemed very happy with her, his Maki-chan. He had even shown her a photograph of the girl that he carried around with him.

The one member of the group that she couldn't get a handle on was Odagiri. She frowned as she thought about the second leader of the class and she paused, staring unseeingly at herself in the mirror.

Odagiri hadn't spoken much to her while they were in the arcade, or afterwards, when they had gone to a shopping mall to get some lunch. She wasn't sure what she had done, but he seemed to have taken an instant dislike to her. She was sure she had sensed his eyes narrowed on her throughout the day when he thought she wasn't looking.

She didn't think that she had done anything suspicious; in fact, she thought that she had been quite good at acting like a boy; the other four boys hadn't seemed to notice anything amiss, anyway.

She debated whether she had been imagining any bad feelings coming from him; he seemed to be the quietest member of the group and had rarely spoken up first, so perhaps she was seeing conflict where there wasn't any. She decided that she would try extra hard tomorrow at school and see what happened.

She dismissed it from her mind for now; there was nothing she could do at the moment. She resumed cutting her hair, happy with the way that the cut was progressing; so far, she hadn't cut herself a bald spot, so that was a bonus!

As she finished cutting, she smiled and thought of the narrow miss they had had upon getting back to Kurogin for their last lesson. As it was a study period with Yankumi, they had known that they would have to return to school so the teacher would not miss them.

They had sneaked into the school through the kitchens at the back of the building. Luckily, the catering staff had finished their clean-up after the hectic and messy lunch period, so the kitchens had been empty.

It had been going wonderfully until they had turned a corner and seen Head Teacher Sawatari walking toward them. Thankfully, he hadn't seen them, as he had been deep in conversation with Superintendent Kurokawa.

They had immediately thrown themselves into a convenient bathroom and held their breaths as they waited silently for the Head Teacher and Superintendent to walk past. They had heard the pompous posturing of Sawatari and had let out a collective sigh of relief as they went unnoticed.

They had rapidly made their way to the 3D classroom, only seconds before Yankumi had breezed in, none the wiser about them having skipped classes for most of the day.

Aoi had been unable to make eye-contact with the teacher as she had, after the lesson had ended, asked her how her first day had been, feeling guilty at deceiving the kindly teacher. She had instead mumbled that the day had been fine. She had said her goodbyes to the boys in the class and had swiftly made her exit, almost tripping in her rush to get out of there.

She placed the scissors down on the counter, having finished her styling. She nodded with satisfaction as she turned her head this way and that, happy with the front and sides at least. She picked up a small mirror and turned her back to the larger mirror. Looking through the reflection of the back of her head, she nodded, impressed with her handiwork despite herself. She ran her fingers through the hair at the back of her head, glad to see there was still no bald spot.

Turning abruptly back to the mirror on the wall, she placed the smaller mirror firmly back on the counter and leaned forward, placing her clenched fists on either side of the mirror as she looked intently at her reflection.

"Tomorrow, you are going to try your hardest, and you are going to get through the next two months. You are going to be motivated and you are going to pass your exams, and you are going to become one of the boys," she added firmly.

Taking a last look at herself in the mirror, she couldn't resist again fluffing her now-shorter hair and went back into her bedroom to change before she went down for the evening meal and Ojiichan's disapproval that she was sure to face at having cut her hair.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

"So, what do you think of the new kid?"

Odagiri Ryu looked up from his ramen at the question that came from Yabuki Hayato. They were seated in Kuma's Noodle restaurant, having made their way there after school had finished. The proprietor, Kumai Teruo – better known as Kuma – was one of Yankumi's first students, and he welcomed them whole-heartedly every time they went there.

He pondered the question that Hayato had just asked. The new kid – Takagi Ichiru – had seemed a nice enough guy; there had just been something a little...off...about him. It obviously hadn't been apparent to the others, as they had been talking comfortably to him all day and didn't seem to have noticed anything amiss.

When the kid had walked into the class, he had seemed uncomfortable. That could have been attributed to the fact that he was nervous at being in a strange school surrounded by people who already knew each other well. But Ryu wasn't convinced.

"I think he seems a good kid," Tsucchi replied, before slurping his own noodles noisily. "He's obviously got a bit of a temper," he added, alluding to the run-in earlier in the day with Zuma and his gang.

"I'd be interested to see if he could back his temper up in a fight. I mean, he is quite a little guy," Hyuuga agreed.

"Do you not think there's something a little...strange?" Ryu asked impulsively before he could stop himself.

Hayato frowned curiously. "What do you mean?"

Ryu shrugged, already regretting saying anything. This was why he didn't speak up that often; talking quite often led to more talking. "I don't know what it is. I just get the feeling there's something he isn't saying."

The other boys wore baffled expressions as they each thought back on the day, but with the occasional exception of Take, they weren't the most observant of people, so Ryu hadn't really expected them to notice anything.

Ichiru – or Ichi as they had taken to calling him – had been a little quiet throughout the day, but had taken part in the fun they had had, so none of the others had noticed anything amiss. As Ryu observed more often than participated, he had apparently noticed something the others hadn't. "Ryu, you need to lighten up," dismissed Hayato around the mouthful of noodles he had in his mouth. "He's new, he's not weird."

"What makes you say that?"

Standing framed in the doorway was Yankumi. Her hands were on her hips and she looked at them with something akin to horror on her face.

They boys looked at each other. The others, as expected, hadn't noticed anything that day, but at the horrified expression on Yankumi's face, they were now wondering if Ryu didn't have a point.

"Why are you so worried, Yankumi?" Hayato asked, sitting back in his seat, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Yankumi jumped nervously, her arms rapidly dropping to her side as she smiled feebly. "What do you mean? Worried? I'm not worried! What have I got to be worried about? I'm just wondering what you boys are doing, talking about one of your precious comrades as though there is something wrong with h-him," she stumbled over the last word.

Studiously ignoring the suspicious glances they were shooting her way, she grinned brightly at Kuma. "Ramen please, Kuma," she called out, taking a seat at the table, picking up one of the menus that the boys had left, burying her head behind it to avoid their stares.

As she didn't appear to be forthcoming with anything else, the others shrugged, the matter forgotten as they got back to the more important matter of filling their stomachs. Ryu absently continued eating, eyes narrowed as he saw Yankumi's head lifted cautiously from behind the menu and she breathed a sigh of relief as the others continued eating and talking. She noticed him staring at her and immediately shoved her head back behind the menu.

Her behaviour only solidified his conviction that there was something going on, but he knew that now wasn't the time to go into it. He sucked up some more ramen and decided that he would keep an eye on things at school and see how things progressed.

Yankumi lifted her head as Kuma placed a bowl of ramen before her. She picked up her chopsticks and began eating the noodles but nearly choked on her first bite as Hayato suddenly asked, "So what do you know about Ichi?"

Trying to appear nonchalant – and not succeeding very well – Yankumi rested her chopsticks on the hashioki by her side and replied, "Not a lot really. Just that...he's...here until graduation because he moved in recently with his grandfather."

"Who are you talking about?" asked Kuma as he placed a huge jug of cola on the table so they could serve themselves.

"There's a new kid at school," Tsucchi replied, stretching forward to be the first to pour a drink. "We think he's okay, but Mr Suspicious over there thinks he's hiding something sinister," he teased, nodding in Ryu's direction.

Ryu ignored this comment and continued eating, but he felt the sharp glance that Yankumi threw at him. Despite her protestations to the contrary, he was convinced that there was something about the new student that she wasn't telling them. Feeling her eyes still on him, he looked up and stared back at her blandly. She hurriedly looked back down at her ramen, uncomfortable at having been caught staring.

"When did this kid start?" Kuma asked, clearing the table next to them. "I don't think I've met him yet, have I?"

Hayato shook his head as he slurped his noodles noisily. "No, it's his first day today; we'll bring him around to meet you," he promised. "This is the best place for noodles, after all." His voice came out muffled as he spoke through a mouthful of food. He rapidly swallowed and ducked his head apologetically at the faintly disapproving look that Yankumi gave him.

"Yankumi, it sounds like you've added another little sheep to your fold," Kuma teased. Yankumi just smiled sheepishly and continued eating.

"Ahhh, that was good, Kuma-san," Hyuuga said, leaning back in his chair, rubbing his now full belly contentedly.

"It sure was. Hayato's right; there's no place better for noodles than here," Tsucchi said, sighing with pleasure.

"I'm glad you boys enjoyed it. How was school today?" Kuma asked. "Not long until you graduate now, is it?"

"It was okay. The arcade was cool, but meeting up with Zuma was a little..." Hyuuga broke off with a small wheeze of pain as Take elbowed him sharply in the ribs, shaking his head at Hyuuga in disgust.

Yankumi slowly raised her head, eyes narrowed on the guilty expression on the five boys' faces. "You boys skipped class today?" she questioned softly, all the more terrifying for her quiet voice.

They looked at each other; the jig was up and they shared a vain hope that being honest now would save them. "Sorry, Yankumi; we know that we shouldn't have done it. We just wanted to show Ichi around since he's new to the area," Hayato grimaced, hoping the suggestion of selflessness would let them off the hook.

Yankumi exhaled noisily, shaking her head sadly. "I'm disappointed in you guys. You're so close to graduation and you need to be stud-," she broke off abruptly as she realised what Hayato had said. A horrified expression came over her features. "Are you talking about Takagi? You took Takagi off school premises?" she asked incredulously.

"Everything was fine. He handled himself perfectly well when we met with Zuma from Ara High," Tsucchi said, trying to be comforting but not succeeding very well as they could all see that their teacher looked like she was experiencing some kind of meltdown. "He's new, but he said he was okay," he added defensively.

High noises were escaping from Yankumi's throat as her shock prevented any actual words from escaping. "Y-y-you – I – you," she squeaked. She stood abruptly, making them all jump a little at her sudden move. "I've got to go. Kuma, here's the money for my ramen," she said, slapping a note down on the table, rapidly getting ready to leave. "This is not the end of this, you guys," she said sharply, pointing an accusing finger at each of the five silent boys. "We have to talk. I just hope Head Teacher Sawatari doesn't find out about this," they heard her mutter as she ran out of the restaurant.

They sat staring at each other silently as the door swung shut behind their teacher. "Well, that was...interesting," Hayato said, blinking curiously after her.

"Weird," agreed Tsucchi. "But then, that's Yankumi for you. She definitely marches to the beat of her own drummer!"

The others laughed lightly at their teacher's strange behaviour as they paid for their meals. They said goodbye to Kuma, promising to return soon.

Tsucchi, Hyuuga and Take walked in front, laughing and joking as they usually did, not noticing that Ryu and Hayato were silent, each pondering what had just happened as they walked behind them; Yankumi's behaviour had made both of them suspicious and Hayato was now of the same opinion as Ryu; something was off about the new kid.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

Aoi kissed her grandfather on his wrinkled cheek. "I'm leaving, Ojiichan."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather have a ride to school?"

She smiled. "No, I'm good. I'll fit in better if I don't suddenly show up in the Bentley," she added wryly. Her grandfather was a huge car enthusiast and his current favourite was his classic silver 1954 Bentley, which he had recently had imported from the UK and he smiled sheepishly at having been caught out; he was looking for any excuse to drive the large car.

She waved back at him as she walked down the long drive that led to the house, putting the earbuds for her iPod in her ears as she walked. She chose some heavy rock and pulled her overcoat closer around her. Thankfully, it wasn't raining this morning, but there were some ominous looking clouds hovering overhead and the temperature had dropped by several degrees.

She lifted a hand in greeting to the few security guards that she passed and waited as one of them punched in the code to open the large gates at the end of the drive. Saying goodbye to him, she walked out of the gates and made her way to the bus stop that would take her closer to Kurogin.

Since the events that had caused her brother's death, her grandfather had increased security around their home and, wanting to show off his new Bentley notwithstanding, he was quite serious about driving her to school, but she had refused, explaining that nobody would ever see her emerging from her home. They were isolated here and any strangers in the area would immediately be detected; and if by some chance someone did see her, they would see only a young boy, not the girl that she really was.

Their home was located on the top of a grassy hill, surrounded by trees on both sides of a long and winding road, which in the warm summer months smelled of sweet peaches caused by the plumeria growing wild among the trees. She and Kaoru had spent many a summer's day as children playing in those woods. There was a meadow at the bottom of the hill surrounded by more trees, which eventually opened into the road where she could catch a bus to get her close to Kurogin.

She made her way through the trees, sniffing lightly at the pleasant fragrances as her head bobbed unconsciously in sympathy with the music coming from her iPod. She finally emerged on the other side of the trees and made her way to the bus stop at the side of the road. She smiled in greeting at the elderly woman already standing there, holding a shopping basket.

"Good morning, Mrs Fujioka," she said, removing one of her earbuds. The elderly lady was the widow of one of her grandfather's friends' so she was familiar with Aoi and knew what had happened a few months ago and also knew that Aoi would be hiding out at Kurogin for the next two months.

"Good morning, Aoi-chan," she replied, looking her up and down. "You look...different," she offered uncertainly. "I never thought you'd look this good as a boy, but you really pull it off well," she added, obviously meaning it as a compliment.

Aoi smiled wryly and decided to take it in the manner it was meant. Mrs Fujioka was a little dotty but very kind. She had been good friends with Aoi's grandmother before she died, so they had known her since they were small. "Here you go dear, have one of these," she offered now, holding out a small packet of mints toward Aoi.

Aoi smiled and took one of the small sweets. "How are you finding that school?" Mrs Fujioka asked, taking one of the mints herself and popping it into her mouth. "It was your first day yesterday, wasn't it?"

Aoi nodded. "It was good. I made some friends on the first day, which as you know, isn't my strong suit, so I was pleasantly surprised."

Mrs Fujioka nodded knowingly. "I bet your grandfather wasn't too impressed with you making friends with a bunch of boys, was he?" She was close enough to them to know that as much a man of the world as he was, when it came to his granddaughter, Hideyuki could be a little old-fashioned.

Aoi grinned. "You know him well! Once I explained that they just saw me as one of the boys though, he was fine. At least to my face, anyway," she added dryly.

Mrs Fujioka grinned back, her eyes lighting up as she smiled. "At least you don't have too far to go when you get off the bus," she said.

Aoi nodded again. "Yes; Kurogin isn't that far."

They passed the time for the next few minutes before the bus arrived, trundling down the road toward them. They got on and Mrs Fujioka saw another old friend sitting at the front, so she sat next to her, leaving Aoi to make her way to the back of the bus to one of the few empty seats.

She put her earbuds back in as the bus drove off. She looked out of the window absently, wondering what today held in store for her.

Yesterday had been the most fun she had had in months. It wasn't something that she was used to, even before Kaoru had died. Never having been very good at making friends, she hadn't really appreciated how good it could be to just hang out with people and have fun.

If she was honest, her main problem was that she had a low tolerance for people. The only people she had really been able to get on well with were her brother and her grandfather.

Looking at herself critically, she wondered whether losing her parents at such a young age had made her the way she was. There was a part of her that had been constantly afraid that Kaoru would be taken from her the way that her parents had been. Losing her grandmother only a few years after moving in with them had seemed to solidify that fear and she admitted that she had clung to Kaoru a little too much.

Over the last few months, she had felt guilt at the pressure that Kaoru must have felt, having to deal with a sister who had showered her affection only on him, though he had never shown it to her; he had always just been her much-loved twin.

Having to live with the reality of her fear of losing Kaoru coming to fruition had somehow felt anticlimactic – there had been that 'I knew it would happen someday' moment when it had happened that had made her wonder rather irrationally whether she was somehow paying for the happiness she had experienced before her parents had died.

She knew that the last thing Kaoru would have wanted was for her to live her life like that, so she had decided to look on this current situation as a positive step. She would force herself to take part in life and become friendly with people, starting with the five boys that she had met yesterday. It wouldn't be easy, but she would start off by behaving the way that Kaoru would have and take things from there.

She smiled to herself as she looked out of the window at the street passing rapidly by, wondering what Kaoru would have made of her pretending to be a boy. She had never been exactly what could be called a girly-girl, but she rather thought that Kaoru was probably up there somewhere shaking his head ruefully at her antics. And what he would have made of her skipping school yesterday – something she had never done before in her life – she could only imagine.

She suddenly realised that they were approaching where she needed to get off and rapidly jumped up, almost falling over her feet in her rush to not miss her stop. She smiled apologetically at an irate looking businessman, whose foot she had stepped on and scrambled past him and the other passengers standing in the aisle.

She waved at Mrs Fujioka as she got off the bus. As she got closer to Kurogin, she saw many other students her age; boys dressed in the same uniform as her, so she knew they were bound for the same school; and girls dressed in the mustard blazer and red chequered skirt of Momo Girls' School.

She blushed a little as she saw the interested glances some of the girls were pointing in her direction, and put her head down. She groaned internally as she heard them giggling as she walked past them, shoulders hunched defensively. Who knew that she would be so popular with the girls? She knew Kaoru would be laughing hysterically about that interesting little fact!

She finally reached Kurogin's gates and breathed a sigh of relief as she walked rapidly forward. She could feel the stares from the few other kids milling around as they almost parted like the waters did for Moses, giving her a wide berth; they apparently recognised her as a member of 3D.

They obviously knew that she was from Class 3D and she might have developed a complex if she hadn't already become familiar with the boys in her class and how they behaved. She jumped as she felt a hand come down on her shoulder and spun around, her fist clenched and raised defensively, instinctively ready to punch a perceived attacker.

It was Head Teacher Sawatari and he wore a horrified expression as he lifted his hands defensively to protect his face before she could swing at it. Her face mirrored his expression as she realised that she had come close to punching him. "Head Teacher! I am so sorry," she expressed profusely, bowing low to him as she apologised.

He lowered his hands cautiously, relieved that he wasn't about to get punched in the face. He straightened, adjusting his tie, trying to pretend that he hadn't just been cowering in terror in front of a girl. "That's okay, Takagi. My mistake entirely, I shouldn't have come up behind you like that," he added pompously. "Um, Yamaguchi-sensei was just looking for you," he added, bowing his head slightly to her before looking around him to make sure nobody had witnessed his cowardice, before walking rapidly away from her.

She groaned. Well, Aoi, that was smart, she thought disgustedly, nothing like frightening the man who would be giving her graduation diploma to her. She hunched her shoulders and walked dejectedly, not noticing the person watching her from across the quad with narrowed eyes.

Aoi opened the door to her classroom; not really all that surprised that she was the first one to arrive. She put her bag and overcoat down on her desk, feeling too restless to sit just yet and wondered absently what Yankumi wanted to see her about. She wandered aimlessly around the room, seeing the graffiti on the walls and various paraphernalia dotted around, portraying how the boys in the class had felt about their school before Yankumi had become their teacher.

She could see how easily it would be to be taken in by the facade they showed to the outside world; they gave the appearance of nothing more than one-dimensional juvenile delinquents, dissatisfied with their lot in life and the way that society saw them. However, she could honestly say that they had metaphorically opened their arms to her. Shaking her head wryly, she pondered how deceptive appearances could be.

The classroom door behind her flew open and she spun around at the sound.

"Good morning, Takagi." It was Yankumi. The teacher had a harried expression on her face.

"Good morning, Yankumi," she replied. "How are you?"

Yankumi sighed in relief at them being the only inhabitants of the classroom. She wouldn't be able to have this conversation with Aoi if the other kids had been present.

"I understand that you went out yesterday with Odagiri and the others," she said disapprovingly. It wasn't that she disbelieved what the boys had told her at Kuma's the night before; she just found it hard to understand why Aoi would put herself in this position.

Aoi bit her lip, grimacing. "How did you find out?"

"I saw the boys after school and they let it slip out. I don't think I need to tell you how dangerous that was; you're here to keep a low profile. What if someone had seen you?"

Aoi flinched, her eyes going blank. "I know it wasn't smart. I just wanted..." she broke off.

Yankumi's face softened as she realised how much in pain this young girl really was in. "You just what?" she prompted not unkindly.

Aoi was silent for a moment as she tried to find the right words to put across how she was feeling. There was something about this young teacher that made her want to pour it all out on to her thin shoulders. "I had a really hard time after my brother died," she understated. "He was my big brother and he always protected me. When our parents died and we went to live with our grandparents, Kaoru was always the one I could depend on. Do you have any concept of what it's like for a little sister to know that the brother she loved with all her heart died because of her? I just wanted to take a few hours out where I wouldn't have to think about it."

Yankumi grimaced in sympathy. "Nobody can understand what you have gone through in the last few months. But you need to be aware of what will happen if anyone finds out that you're hiding here."

Aoi bit her lip again, straightening her spine. "I know very well what will happen if he finds out I'm here. Who better? He killed my brother because of me."

They both fell silent at her stark words. Aoi breathed heavily and Yankumi gently patted the younger girl's heaving shoulders as she tried to compose herself.

They were unaware of the faint gasp of shock that came from outside the room. "She's a girl?" the figure muttered incredulously. He went over in his mind everything that had been said and listened for a little longer, straightening before turning and walking slowly in the opposite direction.

* * *

A/N - Sorry for the delay in updating - I've had some serious writer's block, but I think I'm back on track now. I really appreciate the kind reviews I've been receiving - they have kept me going.

Take care xx


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

"What's up with you, now?"

Ryu walked with his head down, hands in his pockets as he walked a little behind the others. He had been only vaguely aware of the others laughing and joking ahead of him, so the sudden question from Hayato made him jump.

He didn't answer immediately. The weather had held off, though it was looking distinctly overcast, so after they finished school they had decided to again go to Kuma's for something to eat before going home,

"Well?" Hayato asked again, more impatiently this time as he dropped back to walk beside Ryu while waiting for him to respond. "You've been quiet all day. Are you still obsessing about the new kid?" he asked more quietly so they couldn't be heard by the others laughing ahead of them.

Ryu stared ahead of them, watching the others broodingly. He hadn't been sure whether to share what he had discovered with the others, but he nodded to himself as he came to a decision. Taking his hands from his pockets, he turned to Hayato and said quietly, "We need to talk."

"So, talk," Hayato replied, lifting a hand to slap his friend roughly on the back, grinning and not noticing that Ryu was being serious.

Ryu swiftly lifted a hand, grasping Hayato's wrist, preventing his slap from connecting. "We need to talk...alone," he added, staring meaningfully at him.

Hayato's grin faded as Ryu looked away from him; his own eyes followed Ryu's gaze where he was frowning in the others' direction.

Curious now, Hayato gazed again at Ryu's troubled expression and no further explanation was required. Ryu dropped Hayato's wrist and the latter immediately raised it again, calling out to the others in front of them.

"Guys, you go on ahead. We've got something to do first; we'll meet you at Kuma's."

Tsucchi, Take and Hyuuga looked a little surprised at this, but weren't about to let it interrupt their enjoyment of the variety of noodle dishes that awaited them at Kuma's restaurant.

Hayato saw that Ichi paused slightly before taking in the unconcerned expressions worn by the three boys' standing close by.

"So, what is it?"

Ryu shook his head. "Not here. Let's go somewhere else. I don't want this to be overheard."

Pursing his lips, Hayato stared at Ryu before nodding in agreement. "Okay, let's go."

Hayato held the hot cup of coffee, trying to warm his cold hands as he sat on the bench. After buying them both hot beverages, Ryu had led them both to Matsuoka Park and as expected on this cold night, it was deserted.

"What is so important that you needed to see me alone in a park at night? You'd better not be about to ask me out on a date," he threatened jokingly.

Ryu would usually have responded by making some pithy – and likely obscene – remark at his friend's comment, but what he had to say made joking impossible. He began to speak slowly, choosing his words carefully.

"I got to school early this morning, before everyone else arrived and…um…" he paused, looking uncharacteristically uncomfortable.

Hayato's breath expelled roughly and he said impatiently, "Come on, if you've got something to say, spit it out. I'm not getting any warmer and there's a bowl of ramen at Kuma's with my name written all over it!"

Ryu ran his hand through his hair, vexed. He knew that there was no other way to say it, than to just say it. "I was outside the classroom, about to go in, when I heard Yankumi talking to the new kid. You are going to find this hard to believe; Takagi Ichiru is a girl."

Hayato stared at his friend in silence, blank faced and slack-jawed. "What?" he croaked in astonishment.

"You're no more shocked than I was, believe me," Ryu understated. He was still in a state of shock from what he had overheard that morning. He had instinctively suspected that the new kid was hiding something, but he hadn't even had an inkling of what it really was.

"That can't be right. You must have misunderstood," Hayato dismissed, getting over his shock. "There's no way that we could have been hanging around a girl for the last two days without knowing it. Come on, I'm the ladies' man here; I would definitely have known."

Ryu rolled his eyes; his friend had always been a bit self-deluded at his own 'successes' with the opposite sex. Deciding to humour him, he nodded. "Your legendary charms aside, I know what I heard. She was speaking to Yankumi about being a little sister and that her older brother had recently died."

Seeing the quiet certainty on Ryu's face, Hayato had no other option but to believe him. "But why? Why would a girl come to Kurogin? I mean, come on, we're across the way from Momo High, so it can't be that there was no girls' school nearby."

"Yankumi was talking as though she's hiding at Kurogin and that someone was looking for her."

Hayato threw his almost empty coffee cup in a rubbish bin and said harshly, "Hang on, that means that Yankumi lied to us?"

Ryu grimaced. Here was the real reason that he had been unsure whether to tell Hayato about what he had overheard. He had been afraid that the fact that Yankumi had deceived them by not telling them the truth, could potentially damage the fledgling trust that they had developed in a teacher for the first time in their lives.

He tried for a conciliatory tone. "We know that Yankumi has a good heart and she believes in truth above all else. She wouldn't have done this if she didn't think it was right and she had no other choice."

"Regardless, I want to talk to her and find out what's going on. Better yet, I'll go straight to the source and ask Takagi," Hayato added hotly. "I mean, I talked about girls in front of her. How embarrassing is that?"

Silently expressing a frustrated breath at his hot-headed friend, Ryu held up a hand. "I think that the best thing to do is for me to talk to her. You're not the most level-headed of people when you're in a temper," he advised, eyebrows raised pointedly. "I'll find out what's going on and let you know."

Grumbling, but knowing his friend made a valid point; Hayato stood and put his hands in his pockets. "Well, we need to try and act as naturally as possible, so let's go to Kuma's and we can watch this girl for clues." He turned around and made his way out of the park, not waiting to see if Ryu was following.

Aoi placed the IPod ear buds in her ears and lifted her hood up until it covered her head. It didn't provide much protection from the rain that was starting to fall more heavily as she waited for her bus home. Her shoulders hunched against the freezing droplets and she shivered, her hands quickly finding their way into her pockets.

As cold as she was, she was grateful that she wasn't dressed in a girl's school uniform; at least the trousers, which she wore, afforded some respite from the cold.

She hunched her shoulders even more, grimacing faintly as she saw a group of girls from Momo High approaching. They paused as they reached her, smiling coyly in her direction, giggling coquettishly as she blushed at their close inspection. She heard the loud simultaneous, "cute!" that erupted from them as they huddled together, skipping past her.

Aoi shook her head to herself as she watched after them confusedly. It never failed to amaze her at the way that some girls behaved around boys, giggling and batting their lashes at them. If she ever ended up like that, she'd kick herself up the butt!

Although, it seemed to her that boys behaved similarly unnaturally around girls, she thought. Just look at how the guys from Kurogin seemed to change at Kuma's that evening when a few girls from Momo had entered the restaurant. With the exception of Odagiri and Yabuki, they had puffed up like roosters, giving the girls the eye, making suggestive comments, and eventually making them so uncomfortable that they had left the restaurant. The guys had immediately deflated like popped balloons, bemoaning the fear that they would never get a girl. Being around them constantly for the last two days, she had discovered that they were good guys and they were all attractive, so she was sure that if they just thought before they acted, they would have girls swooning over them in no time. Male hormones, she thought ruefully.

She frowned as she thought of Odagiri and Yabuki. She had gone to Kuma's with the others, all the time wondering what the other two were doing. She had tried to be more open that day, as she had intended, and she thought that she had succeeded. Having the upsetting conversation in the classroom with Yankumi that morning hadn't helped, but Aoi had promised herself that she wouldn't let it stop her from enjoying this bit of freedom.

She had been enjoying her ramen with the others, smiling as they still moaned about girls, when Odagiri and Yabuki had walked in. She hadn't noticed anything amiss to begin with; as they sat down, Odagiri was still quiet, but she was beginning to realise that that seemed to be the normal way of things. No, it was the unnatural way that Yabuki was acting that had made her uneasy.

She had gradually become uncomfortably aware that Yabuki, who was usually one of the loudest of the group, was alternately eating his ramen, staring intently at her while shaking his head, and mumbling to himself. The others appeared to find his behaviour amusing, teasing him for behaving, as they put it, 'weird'.

Yabuki had suddenly flinched, a pained expression on his face as he looked at Odagiri with rebuke. Odagiri just looked back at him grimly, shaking his head quickly. Yabuki had looked over at Aoi to see her looking at him, a perturbed expression on her face and he had quickly grinned – uneasily to her eyes – and concentrated on eating his meal, reverting to the way he had been before he went off with Odagiri.

After they had finished eating, they had all parted ways, which was why she now found herself alone waiting for her bus.

She bowed her head politely at the two elderly ladies who came to stand next to her at the bus stop. They were lucky enough to be sharing an umbrella, which seemed to be affording them a little protection from the rain that was steadily beginning to fall more heavily.

She looked at her watch and saw with some dismay that her bus still wasn't due for another fifteen minutes and her shoulders slumped as she resigned herself to the fact that she was going to get wetter before the bus arrived.

She jumped as she felt a firm hand come down on her shoulder and spun around, surprised. It was Odagiri and he was wearing his usual solemn expression.

And he was alone.

"Can we talk?" Seeing the determined glint in his eyes, she had the distinct impression that it wasn't a rhetorical question.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

"What are you doing?"

Aoi tugged on the hold that Odagiri had on her hand. After accosting her at the bus stop, he had taken a hold of her hand and begun dragging her down the street. He was apparently stronger than he looked because no matter how she pulled, she couldn't dislodge his hold.

Ignoring her, he carried on, pausing momentarily as he looked around. Spying a restaurant, he headed for it, never letting go of her.

She blushed faintly at the strange looks they were getting from the few people still on the wet streets. She was sure that she and Odagiri made quite a sight; she, wet and bedraggled, being dragged along by another boy. Trying to keep her footing steady, she looked down at Odagiri's hand as it firmly gripped hers. She wondered why, when he had taken hold of her, that she hadn't immediately felt the fight-or-flight response that had been such a large part of her life for the last few months. And she hadn't almost punched him either when he had put his hand on her shoulder, she realised curiously. Maybe she was beginning to reach a turning point, she thought hopefully.

Odagiri led her into the family restaurant, which was heavily lit and full of patrons. He quickly scanned the busy interior, spying an empty booth toward the back. Still struggling feebly in his hold, Aoi stumbled after him as he led her to the booth.

He unceremoniously bundled her into the seat. She immediately moved as though to stand up, and he placed a hand on her shoulder, firmly pushing her back down. "We need to talk, so sit there. I'll get us some drinks and I'll be right back."

Her jaw dropped at his presumptuousness as he moved to the counter. Aside from the fact that this was probably the most he had said to her since she met him the previous day – had it only been one day, she thought incredulously – she couldn't believe that he had actually had the temerity to accost her off the street!

She watched him as he ordered two soft drinks for them. He was tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for his order to be filled, one hand in his trouser pocket. He kept glancing at her, probably making sure she hadn't run off, she thought sourly. He was so going to get it when he got back to this table.

He paid for the drinks and made his way back to their booth. Her eyes narrowed on him as he sat opposite her; while she was watching him, he was also watching her. His eyes were roaming unashamedly over her face until she grew uncomfortable at the close scrutiny.

"What do you think you're doing?" She realised that in her discomfort, she had been a little louder than she usually would have been, and quickly lowered her voice. "I need to get home and I've likely missed my bus now. What was so important that it couldn't have waited until tomorrow?"

Odagiri didn't immediately respond. He took a deliberate sip from his coke before carefully laying it down on the Formica table top before speaking. "I need to talk to you about something that happened this morning."

Her heart dropped at his intent stare. He knew.

She quickly tried to determine how he could have found out and she mentally kicked herself as she recalled the conversation with Yankumi that morning. Her only option was to try and brazen this out.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Now, I really do need to get going…" she tried to stand, but was stopped when he grabbed her again by the hand.

She had just enough time to marvel again at the fact that he seemed able to touch her without her feeling uncomfortable, before he spoke again.

"Takagi, I know." He lowered his voice so he couldn't be heard by the other people in the restaurant. "I know that you're a girl."

Her eyes widened and she sat slowly, her worst fears realised.

Unsure of how to properly respond, she bit her lip. Taking a deep breath, she laughed shakily.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean, I'm a girl? I go to a boy's school, I look like a boy and I have a boy's name. There's a saying; if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and talks like a duck, chances are it's a duck," she added dismissively, praying desperately that he would fall for it, but not really expecting him to.

If he had indeed heard her talking to Yankumi that morning, then he had obviously heard it from her own mouth and no amount of lying was going to dissuade him. If only he hadn't been the one to overhear, she thought despairingly. She probably could have convinced one of the others that they had misheard. It was just her luck that the most observant and smartest of the group had discovered her secret.

As expected, he raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "I heard it from your own mouth," he said, uncannily echoing her thoughts.

"Yeah…well…prove it!" she said defensively. She looked down, realising that they were still holding hands and she quickly pulled away from him.

Both his eyebrows shot up. "You want me to prove that you're a girl?" he asked incredulously. "I'm not sure that you really want me to do that," he added wryly, grinning widely for the first time since she had met him.

She blushed faintly as she realised what she had said and her heart thumped heavily; at being found out, she convinced herself. It had nothing to do with the fact that his smile had only made her more aware of how attractive he was.

She stared around the restaurant at the happy families that were enjoying their evening. She smiled sadly, recalling the similar nights out she had had with Ojiichan and Kaoru when they had been growing up. They had been so happy back then. How had it turned out like this?

"What do you want me to say?" she asked tiredly. She was never going to be able to convince him he was mistaken. Why could nothing go her way? All that she had had to do was keep her head down for the next two months so that she could graduate in peace before…she closed her eyes defeatedly, biting down on her bottom lip to stop it trembling.

Odagiri's eyes widened in male terror at the possibility that she might be about to start crying, his grin gone. He held up his hands as though he could physically prevent the tears from falling. "I just want to know why you're doing this. What would make a girl want to come to Kurogin?"

Her eyes opened at his quiet, slightly panicked words. He didn't sound as though he was angry. If anything, he was looking at her with horrified concern.

She smiled faintly at the horror, despite herself. The smile vanished as she fiddled nervously with her straw and began to speak. "How much did you hear this morning?"

"Yankumi was telling you off for going out with us." His words slowed as she spoke further, concerned that this could evoke painful memories for her as he recalled what he had overheard. "You were saying that your brother had died."

She took a sip of her own drink before she spoke. "My brother was…killed…three months ago. I have to give evidence so that his murderer will be convicted and go to prison."

It was a relief to finally say it out loud. The last three months had seemed like three years; it was a time that she would never have wished on her worst enemy. The one person that she could have discussed her problems with was her brother, Kaoru, and he was gone forever.

"I loved my brother more than anyone else in this world. He was the other half of me. We were twins," she explained at his questioning look. "I would have done anything for him, and he would have done anything for me. We had an idyllic childhood until our parents died when we were seven."

"It was hard for us to begin with, but we went to live with Obaachan and Ojiichan and we quickly learned to live with the changes. It was mainly having Kaoru that helped me to deal with it as quickly as I did."

"What happened to him? Is it something you feel up to talking about?" Though he had initially dragged her in here to get to the bottom of things, what he had so far discovered made him realise that it might be something that was actually too painful for her to talk about.

"You know, it's actually a relief to talk to someone about it. The closest I came to it was when I was speaking to Yankumi this morning, and you know how that turned out," she smiled wryly, indicating the two of them as they sat close together in the booth. He smiled back at her.

"My grandmother died not long after we moved in and the three of us became all we each had. I guess that's why Ojiichan took my brother's death especially hard. I know it upsets him to think about it, so I can't even talk to Ojiichan about it. I just don't want to hurt him any more than he already is. "I didn't handle Kaoru's death particularly well either, and he worried about me as well when he should have been able to grieve at the death of his only grandson. I still feel badly about that," she admitted softly.

And what about how it's still hurting you, he thought as he watched her take another sip from her drink. He could see that the bravado that she exhibited was just a coping mechanism that she used to help her through the tragedy that she had recently been through. Despite himself, his heart uncharacteristically softened at her plight.

"So, what happens next then?"

"What do you mean?"

"How did you come to be at Kurogin? I'm surprised that your grandfather has let you out of his sight to come to school. He's just lost his grandson, leaving him with his only granddaughter; that can't have been an easy decision for him to make, allowing you away from him. Especially if you're in need of protection."

"I know it is hard for him every time I leave home," she nodded. "After Kaoru's death...I mean, when I finally…got better…I realised that the only way for me to stay sane, was for me to have something to occupy my time until the trial. So I told Ojiichan that I wanted to go to school so that I could graduate."

"But why a boy's school?"

She smiled again faintly. "That was down to Ojiichan. He said that I could only go to school if I had protection. With a bodyguard, I would have stuck out like a sore thumb," she said wryly. She could only imagine what effect having some hulking great bodyguard hanging on her would have had on her schooling.

"In the end, I agreed that in order to graduate, that I would come to Kurogin dressed as a boy. Ojiichan is on the school board of governor's at Kurogin, so that's how it was chosen. And a boy's school would be the last place that that person would look for me," she added harshly, thinking of Kaoru's killer.

She looked outside the restaurant and saw with dismay that it was almost dark and the establishment was almost empty. She looked at her watch and gasped. "I really do need to get home. Ojiichan will be worried."

Ryu desperately wanted to ask her to explain further about what had happened to her brother, but seeing the fatigue and worry in her eyes, he knew that she had had enough for now, but vowed to himself that that conversation would come later.

"Where do you live? I'll see you home." They stood and walked toward the front door. While they had been inside, sure enough it had become dark, but it had also thankfully stopped raining.

Their feet made sloshing sounds in the puddles on the ground as they made their way back to the bus stop where he had met her.

"Where do you live? I'll see you home."

She shook her head rapidly. "It'll be fine, honestly. I don't have far to go once I get off the bus." Seeing the frown on his face, she added hastily, "I'll call Ojiichan once I get on and he'll get someone to meet me." She took her phone out of her pocket ready.

"Give me your cell phone," he directed, holding his hand out.

"Why?" she asked, passing it to him automatically.

He reached her contacts listing and pressed several buttons, typing rapidly. "I'm putting my cell phone number in here. You make sure that you contact me when you're home safely," he added, passing the handset back to her.

She blushed faintly, her heart thumping at the concern apparent in his eyes. She had only ever experienced her brother and her grandfather being concerned for her wellbeing, so this reaction from a boy was something she was unused to.

She put the phone back in her pocket and looked at him. "Do any of the others know?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "I told Hayato. I had to get a second opinion on what I had heard and even though he can be a bit ditzy, he's a good guy to have on your side in a crisis. I haven't told the others."

She looked down. "I'm sorry to ask this when you've been so nice about me basically lying to you all, but I need to know that you're not going to tell anyone else about this." She rushed ahead at the faintly offended look he gave her. "You're all a good bunch of guys – I can tell that from the last two days that I've spent with you – but I need to make sure. It's more than just me matriculating at a boy's school at stake here," she added. "If he finds me, he'll do anything to stop me from testifying."

Seeing how uncomfortable she was at having to ask the question, he smiled, masterfully suppressing the instinctive offence he had taken. He took her hand in his and assured her quietly, "You can trust me."

She blushed faintly and nodded, turning toward the street. She looked to her right and smiled with relief at the sight of the bus coming trundling toward her. It stopped and the driver opened the doors, waiting for her to get on. Odagiri pulled on her hand and she looked in askance at him.

"I can't keep calling you Ichi, at least when we're not around the others," he said, raising one eyebrow. "What's your real name?"

Licking her suddenly dry lips, she croaked, "It's Aoi. Tanaka Aoi."

He smiled and let her go. She showed her pass to the driver and went to find a seat on the almost empty bus. Looking out of the window, she saw that Odagiri was still standing on the pavement, watching her. He lifted a hand to his face, extending his thumb and little finger by his ear and mouth, making the sign of a telephone. "Call me," she saw him mouth and she smiled shyly and nodded her head to let him know that she had understood.

The bus pulled away and she lifted a hand to wave jerkily at him and he lifted a hand in response. She had to stop herself from turning around to get a final look at him as the bus left him behind.

He had been completely different with her, compared to the way he had been around the other guys. That just went to prove what she had thought while she was standing at the bus stop earlier that evening. Boys just seemed to act differently around girls; even the usually stoic Odagiri appeared to be no exception. He had been downright loquacious!

Placing a hand in her pocket, she took out her cell phone and thumbed through the contacts. She looked under 'O' but could find nothing there. Frowning with confusion, she scrolled further down, and stopped abruptly at the 'R's' as she saw 'Ryu'. Her heart felt like it skipped a beat.

Feeling her face redden again – she couldn't believe how much she had blushed that evening – she placed a hand to her cheek, feeling the heat. Shaking her head at her girly reaction, she scrolled back to the 'H's' for 'Home' and made the uncomfortable call to her grandfather, telling him that she was on her way home.

Wincing at the pain in her ear where he had shouted at her over the phone, and knowing that she deserved it for worrying her beloved grandfather – despite it not being entirely her fault that she was late – she disconnected the call.

As expected, Ojiichan had been beside himself with worry. He had told her that someone would be waiting for her when she got off the bus and would take her home.

The bus was almost empty, with only one or two other passengers travelling with her. As she had said to Odagiri - she couldn't bring herself to think of him yet as Ryu - the journey passed uneventfully. Seeing her stop approaching, she stood and walked down the bus, waiting patiently.

The doors opened and she got off, halting abruptly at the sight of the familiar-looking vehicle that was parked before her. She walked over to it and gingerly opened the back door, breathing a sigh of relief as she saw that it was empty.

"You're okay, kid, he didn't come with us. But don't get too complacent, because he's waiting at home for you," came the gruff voice from the front seat.

"Madarame-san, I didn't see you there." Her mouth twisted self-consciously. Madarame Akira was a well-trusted member of their household, who was in his early fifties and had been around for as long as she could remember. He and his wife ran the house with almost knife-edge precision. "So, how angry is he?"

Madarame-san smiled a little sarcastically. Her grandfather hadn't been the only person worried when she hadn't immediately gone home. "Let's just say I'm glad I'm not you."

Grimacing, she sat back in the seat, mumbling an apology that seemed to go some way to mollifying him, as he spoke normally to her the rest of the way back home, temporarily taking her mind off the grilling to come when she arrived home.

* * *

The dark figure stepped out of the shadows and watched the car pull away into the night.

He had been waiting here for what seemed like hours, and his teeth clenched angrily at now finding the kid not alone, and therefore safe from him.

There was nothing he could do about it right now, he told himself grimly. But soon. That little runt would soon learn what it was to cross him.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

"Class, I have some excellent news for you all. At the end of this week, we get to go on a final class outing."

The class gave a unanimous cheer at Yankumi's words. You would think they hadn't seen the light of day in years, Aoi thought fondly, smiling faintly as they all jumped up and down excitedly.

"Now, now, quiet down." Yankumi's calm words caused the boys to stop jumping around and cheering, but her words couldn't prevent the huge grins that they wore.

"You have all been well behaved lately, so I have managed to convince Head Teacher Sawatari that I can take you all on a trip."

"Where are we going, Yankumi?" asked Tsucchi, waving his ever-present fan in the air.

Yankumi smiled serenely. "We'll be going to Kyoto," she replied.

Aoi grinned widely in appreciation, saying a small 'yay' under her breath. She loved Kyoto, having spent many a holiday there with her grandfather and Kaoru. She loved visiting the many temples and shrines, which were a large part of her Japanese heritage. She looked around her in surprise as a loud groan went across the room.

"Kyoto! How boring can you get? There's nothing but temples and shrines there," Yabuki groaned, slumping dejectedly in his seat.

"Kyoto is a wonderful example of our rich culture, Yabuki," Yankumi reprimanded, mildly offended. She too was a huge fan of Kyoto and would not hear anything negative said against it.

Aoi nodded in agreement and Yabuki did a double-take. "What? You want to go to Kyoto? There's so much we could be doing right here," he said in disbelief.

"I spent many holidays in Kyoto when I was growing up; it's a great place to visit. Have you ever been there?"

"But it's full of nothing but shrines," he whined insistently. Seeing the grim look that Yankumi was pointing in his direction, he immediately sat up straight, a plainly false smile on his face. "Which I think is something that we could all benefit from."

The class laughed, resigning themselves to the fact that their last ever school trip was going to be…ugh…educational.

"So, you like Kyoto, Ichi?" asked Ryu stiffly.

The others who were sitting closely enough to overhear Ryu's question did a double-take. They were shocked since Ryu rarely - if ever - started a conversation.

Aoi smiled widely at him, nodding. "I've been on holiday there many times with my family when I was growing up. You should see my bedroom!" She blushed as she realised what she had said. "Because it's decorated in the traditional Japanese manner," she added hastily, looking away from him.

It had been two days since she had been 'outed' by Odagiri. As promised, once she was safely in the car with Madarame-san, she had sent him a brief text message, saying simply, "I'm back now."

The next day at school had been a little uncomfortable for Aoi; knowing that Odagiri and Yabuki knew her secret had initially made it difficult for her to know how to react, especially since they would be around other people who were not aware. This hadn't been helped by the fact that Yabuki had again taken to staring at her, at least until Odagiri had nudged him sharply in the ribs, glaring at him.

He had quickly stopped staring and had reverted back to his previous way of dealing with her before he had found out, which had helped her to get back to some semblance of normalcy.

Odagiri was now nodding, thankfully ignoring her unintentional invitation to inspect her bedroom. He opened his mouth to say something else but was interrupted when Yankumi again spoke.

"Okay, everyone quiet down. We'll be leaving here by coach after school on Friday afternoon and we'll be taking the Shinkansen to Kyoto. We'll be on the train for two hours and I want your promise before we go that you'll be good. You wouldn't believe how much persuading I had to do to get the Head Teacher to agree to this," she muttered under her breath.

"As this is at short notice, I'll be giving you permission slips this afternoon to give to your parents to sign. Needless to say, anyone who doesn't return a signed slip will not be going on the trip! This trip will be just what we need to bond as comrades on a final excursion before you all go out into the world," she added.

Aoi groaned inwardly, knowing that it would take some fancy talking on her part for her grandfather to let her go on this trip without a fuss. Maybe she could paint the trip as both educational and as a way for her to get out of town for a while, she pondered thoughtfully.

Yankumi continued, rambling on enthusiastically about the benefits of bonding and Tsucchi leaned closer to Aoi and draped his arm over her shoulders. "As you've been to Kyoto before, we'll have to break off from the others and have you give us a tour of the best spots."

Aoi stiffened at the suddenness of him placing an arm about her before forcing herself to relax.

She saw Odagiri frown and open his mouth to speak when Yankumi got in there first. "There will be no going off on your own during this trip. We will enjoy it together as true friends should!"

Tsucchi grinned sheepishly at her, while slowly sitting back up in his seat and Ryu relaxed from where he had stiffened in his seat.

The rest of the day went relatively smoothly. Aoi had, however, found herself uncomfortable around lunchtime. She and the others had made their way on to the roof to have their lunch; apparently, it wasn't 'cool' to have lunch in the proper designated area, so she trundled along with the others, while once again shaking her head at the way boys minds worked.

They had been eating their lunches, quietly minding their own business, when the door to the roof had swung open with a crash and she had jumped, seeing Head Teacher Sawatari standing there frowning heavily at them.

He had then proceeded to berate them for coming up on the roof, a place they had no right to be. The atmosphere had become quite hostile for a moment before Odagiri had stood up, crumpling the wrapper that had held his lunch, and walked calmly to the door where Sawatari had been standing. The others had followed, bristling defensively all the way.

As Odagiri and the others had come abreast of the older man, he had simply stared impassively at him and the teacher had huffed a little before stepping back, away from the boys. Despite not saying anything, Odagiri had managed to put the teacher in his place.

Aoi had been surprised at the level of hostility that the teacher had been aiming at them and had said as much.

"It's nothing new," Tsucchi had replied, waving his fan calmly in his face as they sat in their class waiting for the next lesson to begin. "He's had it in for us from day one."

"But why? I don't understand what he's got against you all."

The others had shrugged. They all were perfectly well aware that they hadn't exactly been model students before Yankumi had arrived at the school, but they hadn't really done anything lately, which would justify the head teacher's wrath.

"Maybe he just doesn't like kids," Yabuki supposed, leaning forward in his seat.

"Probably shouldn't have been a teacher then," Aoi had suggested disapprovingly, to which the others had laughed.

Before she knew it, it was the end of the school day. Take had suggested that they all go and get some ramen from Kuma's restaurant and she had jumped at the chance to extend the day a little further. Despite the run-in with the head teacher earlier in the day, she had been enjoying the day and didn't yet want it to end.

Excusing herself for a few minutes, she had made a quick call home and spoken with her grandfather to tell him she would be late home and where she was going. He had grudgingly agreed that she could go for something to eat with her friends, with the proviso that she would call when she was on the bus and Madarame-san would again pick her up.

They made their way to Kuma's ramen shop and she ended up with the biggest bowl of pork ramen that she had ever seen. She also met the proprietor, Kumai Teruo, a big man only a few years older than them, who appeared to run the whole restaurant singlehandedly. He was very pleasant and kind to her, especially when he found out that she was Yankumi's new student; she discovered that Kuma, as he liked to be known, was one of Yankumi's first students when she had become a teacher.

They had laughed their way through the meal, the others asking her in more detail about her past. She had become a little uncomfortable to begin with, realising that she was in fact lying to these boys who had been nothing but welcoming to her; in the end, she decided the easiest way to get through it was to answer their questions as though it were her brother answering the questions - albeit without mentioning a twin sister! As she was speaking, she had noticed Odagiri frowning and she had the feeling he was empathising with her situation. This was confirmed by the fact that he uncharacteristically interjected, changing the subject to a more generic topic.

She had smiled gratefully at him and he had nodded stiffly, but surreptitiously, before resuming eating his own ramen.

By the time they left the shop, it was almost dark, rain clouds moving in above them. "Man, I wish it would stop with this rain!" Hyuuga had grumbled as they made their way down the street.

They all agreed wholeheartedly. "I for one will be glad to go to Kyoto, if only for the improved weather!" said Yabuki, hunching his shoulders against the water pouring down on them.

As it was getting late, they carried on their way, with Take, Tsucchi and Hyuuga going one way and Aoi, Odagiri and Yabuki going the other.

They were quiet as they walked, all three of them a little uncomfortable now that the others, who were unaware of Aoi's secret, had left them.

"So..." Yabuki spoke uncomfortably and then stopped when the others looked at him, not knowing what he wanted to say. They looked at each other, nonplussed.

"So...I'm gonna go," he added, pointing in the opposite direction. He was a simple enough guy that couldn't take the pressure at knowing Aoi's secret; he liked a simpler life. Before Aoi or Odagiri could say anything, despite it being the wrong way, he took off after their other friends, breathing an audible sigh of relief when he was away from them.

Aoi and Odagiri smiled at each other ruefully, hearing Yabuki as he muttered to himself as he walked away. "I'll walk to your bus stop; is someone meeting you again?" Odagiri asked, pushing his bag up on his shoulder.

She nodded as they made their way to the bus stop. "Madarame-san is going to pick me up again."

They both pulled their jackets closer around them as the rain began to beat down more heavily on them.

"I can have Madarame-san drop you off at home if you like?" Seeing that he looked as though he was about to refuse, she quickly added, "I don't think I could rest knowing that I'm in a warm car and you're walking home in this rain. Especially since you have been so nice to me."

Odagiri smile ruefully. "How could I refuse such a kind offer?"

She grinned back at him and blushed as their eyes met, both of them quickly averting their eyes in discomfort.

"So do you live far from here?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"Not too far, no." He told her where he lived.

"But that's..."

"What?" he asked curiously as her voice faded away.

"That's not far from where I live."

"Really? Where do you live?"

"Just through the woods, there's a hill and my home is at the top of that hill."

Odagiri was astounded. "But that's Tanaka Hideyuki's home."

Aoi raised questioning eyebrows. "You know my grandfather?"

Odagiri simply shook his head in wonder. "I don't believe it; what a small world."

"Why?" she asked.

"I've been to your house. My father is a police official and I went to a dinner there with he and my mother a couple of years ago. I met your brother," he added wonderingly. He frowned. "I don't recall meeting you though."

"I tried everything I could to get out of going to Ojiichan's dinner parties, so I was probably at a friend's. I've always been a little shy around lots of people so my grandfather would usually be quite lenient, and my brother would usually step in on my behalf, being better around people than I was. I was such a brat," she added self-mockingly.

"Wait a second; your father's a police official? Is he high-ranking?" she asked suddenly.

Ryu nodded. "Yes, he is quite influential," he replied stiltedly. He was uncomfortable talking about his father as they had only recently begun to get on well together.

"You weren't kidding when you said it was a small world. Your father has been helping with my brother's case. I think it's only because of his influence and his friendship with my grandfather that the case is being fast-tracked. I can't believe he's _that_ Odagiri."

Before they could say anything else, their bus arrived. As the bus was full, they were unable to sit next to each other; Aoi sat in one seat and Odagiri sat in the seat to the left and behind her.

The time apart gave her a chance to review their conversation. Knowing that their elders were close only made her somehow feel closer to Odagiri and made her sure that she could trust him with her secrets. Despite the way that he had been so far, there had still been a small part of her that was concerned that the limited amount of information that she had told him would go no further.

I suppose what had happened three months ago would make anyone paranoid, she thought wryly. Unable to stop herself, she looked around and caught him staring at her. She almost gave herself whiplash, she swivelled her head back to the front so quickly.

She didn't see him smile faintly at her from where he sat. He had learned a lot during their discussion tonight. Probably more than she had intended to reveal.

Oh, not about the reason that she was at Kurogin. She had only told him as must as she wanted to about that. But he had received a lot more information about her than he thought she realised.

For instance, he had deduced that though she and her brother had been the same age - being twins - it appeared that both her brother and her grandfather had coddled and protected her. Even going so far as to let her off from filial duties she was uncomfortable performing.

And the way that she had spoken about her brother the few times that she had mentioned him, told Ryu that they had been as close as it was possible for siblings to be. Maybe losing their parents at such a young age had made them closer than ever, he thought, unconsciously mirroring Aoi's own supposition of a few days before.

He was looking forward to finding out more he thought, in a suddenly uncommon good mood.

"So, what is your excuse this time?"

The two large men - both of whom looked as though they would be the last people one would want to meet in a dark alley - bowed low in supplication.

"We're sorry sir," the largest one said gruffly. "We thought for sure that this time it would work, but..."

Long, slender fingers drummed slowly on the heavy oak antique desk, the man behind it wearing a deceptively calm expression on his face. Anyone who was around him for any length of time knew that could vanish at any moment and both large men were deathly afraid that this was going to be one of those times.

"Maybe that's the problem," he said softly. "I didn't hire you to think. That is obviously not one of your strengths. I asked you to bring the child here to me and you couldn't even do that one...simple...thing."

Both henchmen quaked, glancing at each other fearfully as the man suddenly stood and walked around the desk, stopping in front of them.

"She wasn't alone, sir. Every time we've seen her over the last few days, she's had those boys from the school with her." His voice was panicked as he made their excuses.

Ignoring the man's words, the slender man leaned backwards against his desk and smiled almost pleasantly. "I'm afraid I'm very disappointed. And you know I don't like to be disappointed," he added softly as a servant quietly closed the door to the office so that nothing could be heard from within.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN**

"This is a big change from going to Kuma's after school, isn't it?"

The nervous mutter came from Hyuuga as he and the rest of the class were sitting in the traditional style restaurant that was located inside the onsen where they were staying during their trip top Kyoto.

Yankumi had taken one look inside the onsen and had immediately fallen in love, insisting that they eat there for the first night of their trip.

The onsen served only traditional Japanese fare so the dishes on the tables displayed colourful selections of Sashimi, Sukiyaki, Sushi and Tonkatsu, along with a variety of regional dishes like Obanzai Ryori.

They had set out quite early that morning, getting the bullet train. Most of the boys milled around, still half asleep from the early start.

To add salt to the early wound, Yankumi had been bright eyed and bushy tailed, excited at the prospect of a small holiday.

She had been accompanied to the station by two men who had been helping with her luggage. They had seemed a little rough around the edges and Aoi had wondered how Yankumi knew them. But she had introduced them to her – the boys seemed to know them already – as Tetsu and Minoru, members of her household.

Seeing them hovering protectively over Yankumi until the older woman had had to order them to go back home, Aoi had been reminded of the way that Kaoru had hovered protectively over her.

After leaving their luggage at the onsen when they finally arrived, Yankumi had took them out and started the 'shrine-fest', much to the disappointment of most of her classmates.

"As much as this is one of the best meals I've ever had in my life, I'm looking forward to a fantastic soak after dinner. Man, it's going to be so relaxing," cried Tsucchi, for once without his fan, but only because he was too busy stuffing his face.

Aoi choked on the pork cutlet she was in the middle of chewing when he spoke. Her situation wasn't helped when he turned to her and slapped her hard a few times on the back until it dislodged itself. She eventually caught her breath but her heart had sunk down to her boots.

When they had arrived, she hadn't even given that a thought. She had been so happy to be back in Kyoto for the first time since she was small – and yes, enchanted by the quaintness of the onsen – that she hadn't appreciated the fact that she might be expected to bathe in the baths while she was here.

Feeling like she was about to start hyperventilating any second, she looked over at Odagiri and saw that he wore a similar expression of consternation. What was she going to do?

A lifeline came from Yankumi. "Takagi," she said, addressing Aoi. "I need you to help me with something after we've eaten, so you won't be able to bathe with the others, I'm afraid."

Aoi gave a quiet sigh of relief, smiling as the older woman winked surreptitiously at her.

"Oh man, that's not fair," grumbled Hyuuga.

"You could always help Takagi out if you want to, Hyuuga," Yankumi said archly. They all laughed as he shook his head vigorously in denial.

They finished their meals and all the boys, with the exception of Ryu, went back to their rooms to get ready for their happy bathing time.

Yankumi looked a little nonplussed to see Ryu still there. "It's okay, Odagiri, you can carry on with the others."

"I'll go in a second. I just wanted to let you know that I'll look out for her if we're out of sight."

"What do you mean?" Yankumi asked cautiously.

"I know the truth about Aoi-chan," he said simply and waited as Yankumi's jaw dropped.

"Since when? How?"

"It was the day that we spoke in the classroom the morning after we skipped class," Aoi replied.

"Aoi-chan, I am sorry. That was my fault for not making sure we weren't being overheard. You can trust Odagiri to keep your secret; he's a good person," Yankumi insisted.

Aoi smiled. "I know. He's been a good friend to me."

"That's good. I'm glad you've had somebody who you could talk to. But you both need to be careful. I don't need to tell you how important it is that you stay under that person's radar."

Yankumi brightened and clapped her hands, not wanting to spoil their time away with the realities of home. "However, we're on a mini holiday so I think that we're all entitled to let our hair down a little. Odagiri, you get on and bathe with the others and I'll send Tanaka…Takagi…through when we're finished."

Ryu looked concernedly at Aoi, but seeing that she was relaxed for the first time since he had met her, he nodded and went off after the other boys to bathe.

"Did you really need me to help you with something?" Aoi asked.

"Actually yes," Yankumi replied sheepishly. "I need to get these papers sorted so that all the class have their own copies of the itinerary for while we're here. If you can help me sort those out, it should kill enough time until the boys are finished and then we can go into the ladies area."

Aoi smiled pleasantly and they spent the next little while sorting the papers into some semblance of order.

Hearing noises from outside in the hallway, they could tell that the boys were finished. Putting the last of the papers aside, Yankumi stood.

"I'll check that the coast is clear and then we'll go to the ladies bath together. You go to your room and…" her voice petered out. "I forgot all about…where are you sleeping? Oh, I can't believe I didn't think of this," she berated herself.

Aoi patted her reassuringly on the back of the hand. "It's okay. I'm bunking with Odagiri and Yabuki. It will be fine since they both know the truth."

Though Aoi tried to look as though she wasn't at all worried about sharing a room with the teenage boys, a part of her was feeling a little apprehensive. Not about Yabuki; since he had got over the shock of there being a girl in his midst, he had taken on a brotherly, protective stance when dealing with her.

No, the problem was Odagiri. The way she was beginning to feel about him wasn't in the least sisterly. She had never felt like this about anyone before, simultaneously tranquil and with a heightened sense of awareness. She was trying to hide it but she wasn't altogether sure how successful she was. Having Yabuki around as a buffer would be the only way that she was sure she wouldn't make a total idiot of herself.

Yankumi didn't look entirely convinced, but she didn't see any other way around it so she took Aoi at her word. "Fair enough, but if you feel uncomfortable, come to me and we'll see what we can do."

Now finished with the paperwork, they separated, Yankumi going one way and Aoi the other. Aoi greeted several of her classmates who were still dawdling in the corridors before opening the sliding door to the room that she would be sharing with Odagiri and Yabuki.

When she went inside, only Yabuki was in there. He wore a traditional Japanese robe that had been provided by their hosts and his wet hair was slicked back off his face.

"Oh, hey. You get everything sorted? You okay?" he asked, packing his toiletries away in his small weekend case.

"Yes, everything's fine. Yankumi and I are going to bathe in the ladies bath once all the boys have gone back to their rooms. Yankumi's sending them all back now so that I can go and meet her."

"Okay, cool." He distractedly ran a hand through his hair. "I guess I'll just go to the…out there…somewhere…so you can get ready."

Before he could scamper out of the room, Aoi stopped him. "Yabuki." He halted and turned to face her, raising his eyebrows enquiringly.

"I just wanted to say that I'm grateful for everything that you, Odagiri and the others are doing for me, to make me feel welcome. I understand it can't be easy, but I really do appreciate it."

He grinned at her widely, shown perfect white teeth. "Don't sweat it. Maybe spending some time around you will help me learn how to talk to girls without embarrassing myself."

"I'm sure you don't have any problems talking to girls," she replied wryly. He merely grinned and left the room, whistling as he went.

After he had gone, Aoi quickly unpacked her toiletries and spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to properly don the yukata.

Finally successful, she waited for the small knock that came on her door and opened it a little, relieved to see Yankumi standing there in her own robe with her hair piled on top of her head.

They removed their sandals and then lifted the red curtain at the entrance to the changing room. The tatami beneath their feet felt solid but with a bit of give as they made their way inside. They removed their yukata and Yankumi opened the frosted door that led to the bathing area.

Naked, they washed in the shower area and when they were finished, placed their small towels on the head so it wouldn't touch the warm bath water before settling in.

Yankumi dunked herself down to her neck and Aoi followed suit, letting out a deep sigh of pleasure.

It had been years since she had been in an onsen; the last time had also been during a school holiday, if she recalled correctly.

They finished their bath and went back into the changing room, drying themselves off and replacing their robes. As she dressed, she could feel Yankumi surreptitiously looking in her direction and then away.

"It's okay, you can ask."

Yankumi grimaced faintly at having been caught staring. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable.

Aoi shrugged. "It'll be a relief to talk about it and get it out in the open, to be honest."

"I noticed when we got in that you have a…scar on your shoulder," Yankumi said slowly.

Aoi rubbed her shoulder through the robe, knowing that it was still a deep healing pink. Surprisingly, she hadn't given it a thought before she disrobed, she was so used to it now.

She told Yankumi what had happened three months ago.


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

"I'll see you tomorrow at school, guys."

Aoi waved at her friends, Misaki and Manami as they left the library. It had become got late while they were inside and it was almost dark as the three girls walked down the steps to make their way home. Aoi lived in the opposite direction to her friends, so she was going to make her way on her own.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" asked Misaki; both she and Manami wore identical expressions of concern. "Maybe you should call Kaoru-kun to meet you. We can wait with you until he gets here."

Aoi breezily dismissed their concerns. "It's okay; Kaoru said he was going to meet me halfway, so I'll be fine." Promising to call them when she met Kaoru, they waved goodbye to each other.

As she walked away, Aoi wrapped her coat more tightly around her slight frame. She and her friends had spent most of the afternoon and well into the evening in the library, studying for exams that were coming up in a few months' time. All three girls were straight-A students and studied as fiercely as they had fun.

She yawned. Maybe they had spent too long with the books this time, she thought ruefully, rubbing her forehead at the faint headache that was beginning to make itself felt.

"Aoi-chan!"

She turned around as a black convertible sports car pulled up next to her. "Kagashima-senpai! How are you? It's been a while."

Kagashima Haruhiko was a good friend of her brother and his father was a business associate of her grandfather. He was two years ahead of them at school and often visited their home, so she was very familiar with the handsome senior.

There wasn't the usual ease that she would have felt at seeing him this time. He hadn't visited her brother for a while and she knew that was her fault.

He had asked her for a date three months ago, but she had turned him down. As fond as she was of him, she saw him only as a brother-figure similar to Kaoru.

She regretted that her refusal had put him off visiting since, but a small part of her was relieved. When she had refused him, a strange expression had come over his face that had made her feel uncomfortable for the first time since she had known him.

She knew Kaoru was puzzled at the abrupt change in his friend, but neither Aoi nor Haruhiko had told him anything that had happened.

He smiled at her now as he got out of his car and leaned on the side of the bonnet, looking wealthy and slick. Seeing the bright expression on his face, she wondered whether she had imagined the strange expression on his face after he had asked her out.

"I'm fine. How are you, Aoi-chan? What are you doing out this late on your own?" he asked.

Aoi was relieved that senpai seemed to no longer be uncomfortable around her and she decided to take a leaf out of his book by being the same.

"I was at the library studying with Misaki and Manami. But it's fine, because Kaoru is meeting me half-way and he's going to walk me home."

"You shouldn't be out here on your own; there's nobody about if anything happens. Come on; get in and I'll take you to where Kaoru's meeting you."

He was looking at her intently as he smiled at her and she felt a frisson of unease down her spine, but put it down to the fact that this was the first time that she had spoken to him since he had asked her out. She shook her head and said over-brightly, "No, that's fine, Senpai; I don't want to put you out. I could do with the exercise anyway," she fibbed, smiling. "See you, Senpai. I'll let Kaoru know I saw you."

She turned and waved at him, preparing to rush off. She could have kicked herself. There was nothing she had to fear from Kagashima-senpai; she had known him since she was small. As she had her back to him, she didn't see him move swiftly behind her. She stiffened as his arms came around her from behind and struggled in shock as she felt him place a sweet-smelling cloth over her nose and mouth.

"Senpai–," her muffled voice came from behind the cloth before she felt a stygian darkness descending and her knees buckled. I'm going to break my nose, she thought confusedly as the pavement rapidly approached before everything went black.

"The next thing I knew, I was waking up with a pounding headache and I was sitting on a chair with my hands tied behind my back."

Yankumi was astonished. "He just kidnapped you off the street? How did you get away?"

"Kaoru had asked my grandfather's driver, Madarame-san, to drive him to pick me up from the library and they arrived in time to see someone bundle me in a car and drive off. They followed and when they arrived at the empty warehouse where I was being held, my brother told Madarame-san to call the police while Kaoru came inside to look for me."

"Madarame-san wasn't happy about that, but Kaoru was proficient in martial arts and he thought he could handle himself. He was wrong."

"What happened?" Yankumi asked softly.

Aoi took a deep breath. "Kagashima-senpai had left me alone for a moment when Kaoru found me. He untied me and we were on our way out when he came back in. Kaoru looked so shocked," she remembered painfully.

Knowing that it was his friend who had abducted his sister had left Kaoru stunned, but he hadn't let it slow him down in his effort to get Aoi away.

"We ran up the stairs in the hope that there would be ladders on the side of the building, which we could use to climb down. We got to the roof and there were ladders but we didn't get a chance to use them. We were too slow because I was still too drugged up."

This was harder than she had thought it would be, but as she was speaking, there was also a feeling of catharsis. She hadn't felt that through all the therapy sessions she had had with the medical specialists, but sitting in an onsen changing room with her sympathetic teacher was working wonders.

"Senpai was there before we could make our way off the roof and Kaoru turned around and confronted his oldest friend. He asked him what he thought he was doing."

Senpai had looked at them, both so similar in looks; one his friend and the other his obsession. "You wouldn't understand, Kaoru," he had said, eyes glittering madly. "I've wanted your sister for a long time now and I tried to ignore the feeling, I really did, but I just can't do it any longer. I asked her to be mine three months ago and I know she only refused because she was thinking of my friendship with you. She wants to be with me. I can't live without her; she can't live without me." He gestured with his right hand and they saw the thin-edged blade he held.

"Haruhiko. This isn't you," Kaoru had said, surreptitiously edging Aoi further behind him. "If you really do have feelings for her, how can you treat her like this?" Kaoru's voice had been quietly entreating as he tried to use reason as he indicated his pale, shaking sister.

Senpai looked at Aoi where she stood, tears streaming down her face, and for a moment, she thought that her brother had gotten through to his friend. And then Senpai's eyes had glowed with unshed tears, knowing that he wasn't going to get what he wanted.

"I asked her to be with me and she turned me away. If she won't be with me, then she won't be with anybody." He lunged in their direction, managing to slice through Aoi's shoulder before Kaoru deflected the blade.

Time seemed to freeze. Kaoru and Haruhiko were a breath away from each other as they stared fiercely into each other's eyes. Kaoru suddenly let out a strange, wet sigh as he fell to the floor, Aoi trying desperately to hold him up. She didn't know what had happened to begin with, it had been so quick.

"I tried to hold him up, but I wasn't strong enough and I was still feeling groggy from the chloroform. I remember just staring into my brother's eyes and I think my hand was hurting from where he was holding it so tightly, but I didn't want to let him go. It didn't seem real."

"I could hear people running up the stairs - it was the police - and Senpai ran over to the ladders and got away off the roof."

"Kaoru and I were left there as the police came running over. I didn't even realise that he'd stopped gripping my hand. He bled to death in my arms before the police even got out on to the roof. He was sixteen years old and that man killed him because he was trying to protect me."

"I went to pieces after that. I don't remember much until I woke up in hospital two days later. I hadn't been able to tell anybody who the culprit was, but it turned out I didn't need to. Senpai left his car at the warehouse and they picked him up hiding at home the same night he killed Kaoru. I never understood why he went home, he must have known they would look for him there."

"It took me a lot of therapy before I could get back to some semblance of normality and I took self-defence lessons so I would never be a burden again. But whatever I do, it's never going to be enough. I mean, how do you get over the fact that your brother died because of you?"

Yankumi comforted her in an emotional voice. "I didn't know him, but I think you're doing your brother a disservice. He obviously loved you and he felt that he was doing what was right. He had to save you; the kind of person he was couldn't let the wrong done to you go unpunished."

"You will never get over what happened, and I don't believe that you should. You just become a person that has that experience inside them. It's a completely different thing to what happened to you, but I lost my parents at a very young age and though I didn't have any siblings, I was so lucky to have a loving grandfather and many surrogate brothers who helped me to, not get over it, but to live with it."

The tears dropped from Aoi's eyes and Yankumi pulled her to her, rubbing her back comfortingly as the young girl sobbed out the bitterness, fear and anger that had been so much a part of her for the last three months.

Feeling more composed and very tired, Aoi made her way back to the room she was sharing with Odagiri and Yabuki.

She opened the door and walked softly inside. Odagiri was sitting cross-legged on his futon, leaning up against the wall as he read a book. Yabuki was lying face down on his own futon, snoring loudly.

"He must have been tired," she said, nodding in Yabuki's direction.

"I think all the travelling tired him out," Ryu replied, shooting her a concerned look. Her eyes were red-rimmed so that he could see that she had been crying. "Are you okay?"

Aoi was quiet. For the last three months whenever someone asked her that question, she quickly replied in the affirmative, primarily because that was how she wanted to feel, but it was also how the other person wanted her to feel. This time though, she gave proper consideration to the question and as she replied, for the first time in three months, she spoke the truth.

"I think I really am."


End file.
